


Sisterboy

by chatteringmagpie



Series: Out of the Ashes [2]
Category: Star Trek: Picard
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Insanity, Love, Psychological Torture, Psychological Trauma, Revenge, Romulans, Torture, Violence, Whump, Woobie Elnor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:35:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24869986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chatteringmagpie/pseuds/chatteringmagpie
Summary: Before leaving Vashti, Elnor beheaded Tenqem Adrev in front of a crowd of witnesses, but killing a fellow Romulan to protect someone as hated as Jean-Luc Picard has consequences, and Tenqem's friends are determined to make Elnor pay the price for his crime.
Relationships: Elnor & Jean-Luc Picard, Elnor & Zani (Star Trek), Elnor (Star Trek) & Original Character(s), Elnor (Star Trek)/Original Character(s)
Series: Out of the Ashes [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1799515
Comments: 22
Kudos: 7





	1. Attacked

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tamuril2](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamuril2/gifts).



He laid his card on the pile and looked across the table at his partner.

“Elnor, are you cheating?” Soji asked as she eyed him suspiciously.

"No, I'm not!" he insisted. Raffi sighed with irritation, and Agnes shuffled the cards in her hand around with an amused smirk on her face.

“He wouldn’t know how to cheat even if he wanted to,” she teased.

Then came the sound of the explosion, followed by the disorienting lurch. Soji grabbed the table to steady herself. Agnes nearly pitched off her chair, but Elnor grabbed her arm in time.

"Puta Madre! Where did that come from!" Rios cursed from the captain’s chair.

“What the hell is going on?” Raffi called to him as she dropped her cards and raced up the stairs. Then both of them saw the battered bird of prey swoop past the ship and circle back around.

“Is that Kar Kantar?” Raffi asked with disbelief. “That was a quick repair job!”

“Sure looks like him,” Rios muttered, his cigar firmly clenched between his teeth. Another blast and _La Sirena_ reeled again. Cursing in Spanish, he made a tight arc and avoided the next shot, but the antique beast was on top of him in no time. Raffi flew into her usual seat at the comm, and Rios barked for Emmett, who materialized in his usual state, half asleep.

Picard and Naseema spilled out of the chateau study, each holding the other’s arm for support against the next jarring blow.

"Fuck!" Rios exclaimed angrily, as Raffi pounded commands into the computer. "The shields are failing!"

Another hit and the ship listed hard, Picard stumbled forward into Naseema and knocked her against the railing. Then came the blur of intruders and transporter beams. A fist connected with Picard's jaw and then a shove, he went backward into Naseema. She spilled over the railing and landed on the lower level with a violent thud. Elnor already had his weapon drawn, and when Naseema hit the floor both he, and Soji ran to her. Two more armed Romulans appeared. Soji reacted without even blinking. She disarmed the man and sent him to the deck in an unconscious heap. Elnor's blade severed the second man's carotid artery before he even fully materialized. When he finally did, he collapsed to the floor with blood pooling around him.

Raffi and Rios were shouting and running on the upper level. Then came the disrupter fire. Everybody hit the deck except Elnor. He bounded toward the stairs as he dodged each blast aimed at him, up the steps like an acrobat to where Picard was on the floor struggling with a roughly dressed Romulan. Elnor flew over the railing, and his _tan qalanq_ flashed. The man's head slid from his neck as Picard heaved the body away. A disruptor blast hit Elnor in the shoulder, knocked him backward, and chaos erupted. Raffi and Rios dove for cover and fired back. Three more scruffy Romulans appeared, and the sound of energy fire echoed off the bulkhead.

Agnes was under the table, and Soji dragged Naseema behind the stairs. Elnor rolled, and his feet came to him quickly. He moved toward Picard, who was using the dead man's corpse to shield himself from the weapons fire. Focused on the admiral, Elnor heard Rios call to him, drowned out, and broken by the firefight. The warning didn't register. His attention fixed on Picard. A blast whizzed past his ear as Picard faded into pixels along with the headless body. Then the hood went over Elnor's head. Hands grabbed him. His sword torn from his grasp. Then more hands holding him down. He heard the sound of the swirling light surrounding him, and someone laughed low and dark. _Sisterboy_.

Naseema felt herself being lifted from the floor and carried. Her limbs were limp, and her head ached. She heard far away voices. Agnes, talking to Emil. Raffi, shouting a jumble of information. Rios cursing and Soji, offering suggestions. She couldn't make out the words, but the tones and inflections told her who the speakers were. Then, the firm surface of the bed in the medical bay against her back. A British Rios next to her ear and then Soji again.

“I think she broke her neck.”

Rios, “We need to secure this asshole before he wakes up!”

Agnes to Emil, “My hands are still shaking. I can’t do it.”

Raffi, “Is she breathing?”

The voices slowly became less jumbled.

“How did this happen?” Emil asked.

“She fell from the upper deck and landed mostly on her head,” Soji replied.

Naseema finally forced her eyes open. The bright light above her was blocked out by Emil’s face.

“She’s conscious,” he said to Agnes. He shone a beam directly into her eye. “Pupil dilation is normal.” Then he frowned. “At least, I think it’s normal. Is the orange ring supposed to pulsate like that?”

“Yes,” Agnes replied.

The Feeonix groaned and rotated her head to the side. The sickening crack that resulted, made everyone wince. "What the hell happened?" she asked in a pained croak.

Soji tilted her head, the tell-tale mark of her parentage. “You went over the railing and landed awkwardly...and hard. I was sure you’d broken your neck.”

“I believe I may have,” Naseema replied. “The sensation of pins and needles in my legs right now is unpleasant, to say the least."

“Can you move your legs?” Agnes asked.

"I believe so," Naseema said and jerked her left leg to be sure. "Yes, they are still functional, just perhaps not fully." She laughed a little following her statement and scanned the stolid expressions of the others. "Nobody?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, and when she got no acknowledgment, she shrugged. "Android humour."

Everyone looked at Soji, who also shrugged. "Don't ask me," she said. "I'm still new at this."

The Feeonix grunted loud as she rolled onto her side and tried to push herself up.

"I don't advise-" Emil started to warn her, but she shot him a look.

“Just bloody well help me, will you?” she tersely instructed. The hologram rolled his eyes and did as asked.

_He was getting used to Naseema’s thinly veiled disdain for him but still found the excuse Picard gave him of her medical phobia pretty lame. It wasn’t like he was trying to stick her with anything. He didn’t even have a tricorder in his hand, for crying out loud._

Once she was sitting upright, she cracked her neck the other way, and everyone cringed again.

“That must hurt,” Raffi supposed.

"It does not tickle," Naseema replied as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Who were those people?" she asked, glancing around the room. "Was that an old Romulan bird-of-prey, or did I hallucinate it?"

"You didn't hallucinate it," Raffi told her. "It belongs to a thug called Kar Kantar. He's one of the warlords who run the Qiris sector."

Naseema frowned with confusion. “Why did he attack the ship?”

Rios sighed heavily. “We had a bit of a run-in with him the last time we were orbiting Vashti.”

“What do you mean by a _run in_?” she asked.

“He came after us when we picked Elnor up,” Raffi said. “There was a bit of a dogfight. A Ranger gave us a hand and crippled his ship.”

Naseema glanced between Rios and Raffi and raised her eyebrows. “Seven of Nine?”

Raffi nodded with a sentimental smile. “The one and only.”

Naseema jerked her head and winced as a sharp pain shot down her side. "A skirmish does not explain why your ship was boarded, Mr. Rios," she said. "I would think if he were still upset about that, he would have just destroyed us."

The two former Starfleet officers exchanged a look that made Naseema concerned. “Did he come looking for Seven? Does he perhaps believe you have something that belongs to him?”

_It was at this point she realized Elnor and Jean-Luc weren't there. That made an extremely unpleasant feeling creep up her spine. What had happened after she fell? Why, would a Romulan warlord want to board the ship? Why was everyone avoiding eye contact with her? Where was Elnor? He wouldn't have left her unconscious on the floor without good reason._

"Nothing that belongs to him, but I think he found what he came here looking for," Raffi said as her voice dropped, and she looked away from the Feeonix.

“And that would be what?” Naseema pressed, the anxiety in her tone rising. “Where is Jean-Luc?” She swallowed hard. “Where is Elnor?”

Rios and Raffi exchanged another look. Then Rios looked at Agnes, who diverted her eyes away.

Soji glanced between the three humans. “She needs to know.”

“What do I need to know?” Naseema asked, staring hard at Rios. “Where is Elnor?”

Raffi let out a nervous sigh, closed her eyes, and frowned. "When JL went down to Vashti, he was confronted by a former senator who was a leader in the Romulan rebirth movement there. Things got ugly.”

“What do you mean _was_ a leader?” Naseema asked, her voice now shaking.

“Elnor took his head off,” Raffi replied.

"Where are Jean-Luc and Elnor?" Naseema repeated her earlier question, and everyone in the room, including Emil, could tell she was on the verge of losing it.

"They've been taken," Agnes finally told her.

The Feeonix’s eyes widened. “Why?”

"Revenge would be my guess," Rios replied, looking at her ruefully.

“Is it possible they are already dead?” she asked. The marked change in her tone almost made the temperature in the room drop.

Raffi finally looked her in the face and took a steadying breath.

_She was all too aware of the ramifications of what she was about to say next. Naseema had a terrifying temper. She dreaded what was going to happen, and there would be nothing any of them could do to stop it._

"If all they wanted to do was kill them, why take them?" she asked pointedly.

The orange rings in Naseema’s eyes flared outward as she replied. “To prolong it.”

The humans all looked at each other again. The anxiety in the room was becoming palpable.

“How long have I been out?” Naseema demanded as her voice dropped to a low snarl.

"Almost half an hour," Soji said. She was the only one who was willing to make eye contact with Naseema and watched with growing unease as the Feeonix's eyes turned from dark blue to nearly black in the span of three-point four two seconds. She moved to get off the table, and Emil tried to stop her.

"Fuck off!" she hissed at him as she gripped the bed for support. After a few second ocular showdown with Emil, she walked unsteady, out of the room toward the stairs. Everyone watched in nervous silence as she gripped the railing, heaved herself up to the second level, and into the chateau study.

“How bad do you think this is going to get?” Agnes finally asked.

“She’ll start a war,” Rios said flatly. “I wouldn’t put it past her.”

“You don’t really believe she would go that far, do you?” Soji asked him.

"Look," Rios sighed. "She makes for good company, but she's got...problems, and she's fucking dangerous. She can't control what she can do."

Raffi was massaging her temple. “What are we going to do?”

Nobody got a chance to suggest anything before they heard the shouting coming from the study. Rios turned and ran up the stairs two at a time with Raffi, Agnes, and Soji right behind him. Naseema was talking to Jagger. Actually, they were yelling over each other.

“They took him!” she screamed. “And they took Jean-Luc!”

“You need to calm the fuck down!” Jagger shouted back. “I can’t understand you like this!”

"I need you here! NOW!" she continued, and her hands went up into her hair to grab two desperate handfuls.

Jagger softened his tone but still had to maintain his volume for his words to even register with her. She was almost hysterical. "Is there anyone else there with you?" he asked. "Someone with a better hold on their emotions, like maybe the admiral?"

Naseema shrieked with agony and frustration.

“We’re all here,” Rios broke in and moved into Jagger’s line of sight.

“Great!” Jagger said with exasperation. “Do me a favour and get her a drink, will you?”

Rios nodded and went to the small sidebar where Picard kept the liquor. He poured a full tumbler of the first decanter he grabbed and brought it over to Naseema, who was practically hyperventilating at this point. Her hands were shaking so terribly, Rios had to keep his hold on the glass to steady it as she took a deep gulp. Meanwhile, the three women had all moved into Jagger's view.

He saw Soji and breathed a loud sigh of relief. “Thank god! Now, what happened? Where the fuck is Picard? He knows how to get her under control.”

“Picard isn’t here,” Soji replied, a deep frown of worry on her pretty face. “We were attacked and boarded. They took Picard...and Elnor.”

Jagger’s eyes widened. “ _Shit_.”

"We know who it was," Raffi told him. "The ship belongs to a warlord named Kar Kantar. He runs a good chunk of the Qiris sector. He fired on us until we stalled out, and the shields went down. Then a bunch of cowboy Romulans boarded us and opened fire. They beamed JL out during the confusion, and then they put a bag over Elnor's head and took him too. Once they had them, they took off."

“Where was Naseema during all this?” Jagger asked, his expression grave.

“She fell from the second level,” Soji said. “She was unconscious.” The young android glanced over at Naseema. Rios had managed to get her settled on the sofa where she now sat, looking almost catatonic.

Jagger sighed again. "Well, it seems pretty apparent this Kar Kantar got what he came for, do we know why they took them?"

Soji and Raffi exchanged a worried glance. “Elnor killed some big shot in the Romulan rebirth movement right before he left Vashti,” Raffi said. “So, it’s probably about revenge.”

Jagger sank his face into his hands for a few seconds before rubbing them up through his hair. "They're gonna be tortured. Why else would they abduct them and not just kill them?" He framed his last statement as a question, but everyone knew he wasn't asking anything.

“That was my thinking,” Raffi said.

Do we have any idea where they might have taken them?” Jagger asked.

“Guaranteed, it’s in the sector somewhere,” Raffi surmised. “As for exactly where, your guess is as good as mine.”

“Fuck.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Raffi replied.

Jagger steeled his expression. “Alright, I know a thing or two about torture.”

"Why am I not surprised by that?" Rios muttered from the sofa. The Feeonix couldn't see him, but he heard him.

"Look, man," Jagger said with irritation. "Your feelings about my species aren't a big secret, but shit like that isn't helpful." Rios rolled his eyes, and Jagger returned his focus to Raffi. "The whole point of torturing someone is to break them, usually to extract information but not always. Since we're pretty sure this is about revenge, that means their primary goal is to break them, so at least that buys us some time. Picard has been down this road before, and Elnor is strong and determined. They won't be ground down easily, but we can't drag our heels on this either."

Raffi and Soji nodded in nervous agreement. Agnes quietly listened as she chewed on her fingernails anxiously.

“Soji,” Jagger continued. “You’re going to need to take charge of my girl until I get there. You’re the only one who can overpower her and don’t hesitate to do it if she starts to lose it. Sedate her if you have to. Believe me, this has the potential to get very, very bad if she goes off the rails.”

Soji took a deep breath and glanced at Raffi. “Okay, but please hurry.”

“I will,” he promised. “Now, where is she? I need to talk to her again.”

Soji disappeared from his view for a minute while she retrieved Naseema from the sofa. Once he could see her, Jagger looked at her with deadly seriousness. "We will find them," he told her. "I am on my way, but it'll take me a couple of days to rendezvous. In the meantime, I need you to keep your shit together. Can you do that?"

She inhaled a shaky breath. “I need you to hurry, Jag,” she whimpered tearfully. “I cannot do this again.”

“I know,” he said. “He’s a tough cookie, he’ll be okay.”

_She didn't even remotely believe Jagger, but what choice did she have? She knew if she tried to do this alone, her control would evaporate like dew in the desert, and innocent people would die. Innocent people like the ones on this ship. Innocent people like Elnor and Jean-Luc. If she lost control, she could kill everyone while trying to save them. She knew she needed to hold herself together even though images of what might be happening to Elnor were running through her mind in a horrifying slideshow that made her want to be sick. Her only comfort was knowing that Jagger knew what to do._


	2. The Table

Someone yanked the scabbard from his back, and as soon as the bag came off Elnor's head, a fist slammed into his face and sent him to the deck plate. Then a vicious kick to his abdomen. Something long and wooden struck him in the middle of his back. He grunted with pain as another blow came down and then another. He was on all fours when someone's boot shoved his head down. Another hard kick to his side and he heard Picard's voice shouting. Then he was pushed onto his belly, and two others wrenched his arms behind him to cinch his wrists together. The tie was too tight. It dug into his skin and cut the circulation to his hands off. His face now against the deck, he stopped struggling and tried to slow his breathing.

_The deck smelled like mechanical grease and excrement. It was uneven and dirty. The hum coming from underneath was loud and unsteady. The vibration choppy. They must be aboard that old bird-of-prey. The boots of his captors were worn and dirty, but the smell of them was familiar. These men were from Vashti. They spoke to each other in a dialect he recognized. One of them called him 'Sisterboy'. They knew him, but he hadn't seen their faces and didn't yet know if he knew them. What did they want, and where was Picard?_

"Elnor, are you-?" Picard tried to ask, but the Romulan next to him shoved the muzzle of his disruptor into the old man's face.

"I told you to shut up," the man growled. "The more you talk, the more we beat him."

Picard glared at the man but accepted the threat as fact and kept quiet. Another man came over and roughly hauled Elnor to his feet by one arm, purposely twisting it to make sure it hurt. Once he was upright, Elnor brought his foot into the man's knee and sent him to the ground. He readied himself to defend against another attack but instead, the man next to Picard held his weapon up to the admiral's temple and stared coolly at Elnor.

"One more time, and he's dead, understand?"

Elnor eyed the man briefly before relaxing his posture.

_This was how it would be. Anytime either one of them acted up, the other would be threatened with harm. He resigned himself to cooperating until he could figure out a way for them to escape._

He recognized the next man that entered the room. His name was Kikain, and he had been friends with Tenqem Adrev. He was the one who whispered _Sisterboy_.

_He was well aware of the abysmal state of his social status in North Station, but Kikain was particularly scornful. It would be fair to say they hated each other. As soon as he laid eyes on Kikain, he knew the situation was going get very bad._

“You killed a good man, Sisterboy. All to protect this traitor to the empire,” Kikain said and gestured toward Picard. “Now, you’re going to suffer for it.”

Elnor swallowed hard as he and Picard glanced at each other.

Kikain waved his disruptor toward the corridor. "Start walking." Two other men appeared. Elnor knew one of the two as a man named Therrura, but the other was a stranger to him. They forced Elnor to lead the way to a small cramped room at the rear of the ship. Once there, Kikain instructed Elnor into the room, and the stranger released the binding at his wrists. Then Kikain made him strip by shoving Picard to his knees and holding a disruptor to the back of his head. Picard turned his face away and shut his eyes as Elnor took his boots and clothes off. He tossed them toward Kikain with a defiant tilt of his chin, refusing to be intimidated or shamed. Then Therrura stepped forward, dragging a hose with a nozzle so big he needed both hands to hold it, and pointed it at Elnor. Freezing water erupted from it. The shock of the icy blast made Elnor gasp, and the force of the water felt like thousands of tiny needles against his skin. It forced him back several steps, and he covered his face with his hands as he turned his body so his back would take the brunt. The assault only lasted a minute or two, but he was completely soaked and shivering when it was over. Kikain then threw a different pair of pants at him.

"Put those on," he instructed. His tone was indifferent, yet there was a menacing edge to it. Kikain was not a stupid man, and Elnor knew none of what was happening was improvised or hasty. He complied as he glared at Kikain, and once he was covered, the stranger came in to restrain him again.

"We'll be alright, Elnor," Picard tried to reassure as Kikain hauled him out of the room by his shirt collar. The door slid shut, and Elnor was left alone in the cold, damp, pitch-black room. He felt around the floor with his bare feet and found the edges of the little room. He worked his way around the space systematically and wished he'd taken a better look around before they closed the door on him. He could find no drainage on the floor so, there was a thin layer of water across the entire room and nowhere to sit. He would either have to stand or resign himself to sitting in a puddle of cold water. He decided that standing was his best option so, he located the door and leaned against the wall beside it. He tried to wiggle his arms over his backside to free himself, but his restraints were too tight, and he eventually gave up. He sighed, closed his eyes, and rested his head back.

_He knew Kikain meant to hurt him, and he tried to steel himself against what was coming, but how did one prepare their mind for torture? There were almost endless possibilities for what they could do to him, and the more he thought about it, the more his imagination went wild, escalating the fear he was already actively concealing. He wasn't even sure if anyone else aboard La Sirena had survived the attack, but he prayed for rescue regardless and knew he would need to be as brave as he'd ever been in his life._

He didn't have any idea how long he'd been left in the cold, little room when he awoke with a sudden jerk. He'd finally fallen asleep against the wall, but when his legs wobbled, and he started to slide, the sensation of falling startled his brain into consciousness. It was awful, being awake. The room was so damp and cold he couldn't keep his body from shivering, and the constant chattering of his teeth made his head ache. There was nowhere for the moisture in the room to go so, his hair was still damp, and it clung wretchedly to his skin. Even the wall was slick with beads of water. His arms hurt from being tied behind his back, and the bond was cutting into his wrists. The trickle of blood running down his hand was the only source of warmth. The pants Kikain gave him were too big for him. They were barely hanging onto his hips, and they dragged on the floor so, they acted like wicks, drawing the chilly water almost up to his knees. The fabric was coarse and chafed his skin, especially where it was wet. He almost couldn't even feel his toes anymore because they were so numb. He wanted to sit down to relieve his tired legs but knew that would only make him feel colder so, he started shifting his weight from one to the other instead, and it worked for a while. When it was no longer enough, he started slowly pacing back and forth across the tiny space.

_He was miserable, and he knew it was what Kikain wanted him to feel. Right now, he would give almost anything to be dry and warm. He would readily accept another beating just to get his blood flowing again, but he wasn't about to give his captors the satisfaction of knowing they were getting to him. He needed to stay strong, for Picard and himself._

His stomach grumbled, which gave him some indication that he'd been in the room overnight, and it was likely morning at this point. His body, accustomed to a consistent schedule, was annoyed that he'd missed breakfast, but he knew it was foolish to believe he'd get anything to eat or drink. The weaker he was physically, the more vulnerable he would be psychologically, and easier to control.

_As unhappy as he was, he hoped Picard, was treated with more dignity and kindness. The admiral may have a synthetic body now, but it wasn't much different than the old organic one, and it was far from indestructible. The old man could experience pain and misery just as easily as he could. Even as he felt the despair begin to creep in, he remained resolved to protect Picard regardless of what Kikain did to him and decided if he were going to die, he would do so honourably._

The door suddenly whooshed open, and the dim light from outside was blinding after being in complete darkness for so long. Elnor squeezed his eyes shut and then blinked several times before he finally squinted to try and make out who the figure in the doorway was.

"Sleep well, Sisterboy?" The voice was sarcastic and mocking and belonged to Therrura. He splashed across the floor and grabbed a handful of Elnor's hair to drag him out of the room. Therrura was a big man, taller than Elnor, and had a famously nasty disposition. When he moved toward him, Elnor saw the smaller man from the day before, standing behind him armed with a disruptor. Therrura shoved Elnor out in front of him and planted his foot in the small of his back. He stumbled forward, tripped on the lip of the doorway, and fell to his knees in front of the smaller man who then brought the disruptor down across his face.

"Get up!" the smaller man ordered. Elnor started to rise but not fast enough for Therrura, who grabbed his hair again and hauled him to his feet. They took him to another room where he was relieved to see Picard alive and unharmed. The admiral's hands were tied together and rested in his lap. He sat on a small cot suspended from the wall and initially smiled when he saw Elnor, but the smile quickly faded when he realized the condition his young ward was in. Elnor's lips were blue, and he was trembling with cold. Ugly, dark circles hung under his eyes, and deep bruises from yesterday's beating were starting to rise. The dirty, worn-out pants he wore left twin trails of water behind them as they dragged on the floor, and the ends of his hair still dripped. Regardless of his shabby appearance, Elnor managed to return Picard's smile.

“It fills me with joy to see you alive,” he said softly.

“My god, Elnor, what have they done to you?” Picard asked with deep concern.

“Please do not worry,” Elnor replied. “I am alright.”

“Probably not for long,” Therrura cut in with a mean-spirited smirk. “We’re just getting started.”

Elnor glanced around the room. Other than the cot Picard was on, there was a narrow, wooden table set on a fulcrum with restraints at one end. A beat-up chair sat nearby. There was a metal ring bolted to the floor under the table, with a chain attached, and a large jug next to it. A restraint anchor was suspended from the low ceiling. As soon as he finished taking in his surroundings, he wished he hadn't. It was obvious why he was brought to this room. It was where they intended to punish him for Tenqem's death, and they were going to do it in front of Picard. Two birds with one stone.

_He knew he was the one they were angry with. He was the one they wanted to hurt. Picard had not permitted Tenqem's death nor condoned it. The majority of North Station's residents felt betrayed by Picard, and some even hated the man, that was true, but he was the one who killed another Romulan to protect what most saw as an enemy of his people. As far as Kikian and the others were concerned, his treachery was far greater than Picard's. Kikain was mean and embittered by circumstances out of anyone's control, and he knew that was feeding the desire for revenge too. He was afraid, but he remained determined not to allow his captors to see it. He wouldn't scream, and he wouldn't cry. He wouldn't let Picard suffer by way of his torment._

Therrura forced him over to the table while the smaller man strolled over to Picard and held his disruptor on him. Therrura released Elnor’s wrists and had to peel the tie out of the wound it wore into his flesh. Despite the stinging pain, the feeling of his arms no longer pinned behind him was a relief. It was brief though, as Therrura immediately refastened his hands in front of him, and told him to lie down. Then Kikain came into the room and looked at Picard.

"You had better prepare yourself, old man because this isn't going to be pretty," he said with the same unnerving calm as yesterday.

Picard kept his expression neutral as he stared back at Kikain."Let Elnor go. I'm the one you want, and hurting him will not satisfy your thirst for vengeance."

“Are you sure about that?” Kikain asked and turned his eyes on the young Qowat Milat.

_Picard had no idea how wrong he was. He certainly had no love for the man who so casually betrayed and abandoned the Romulan people, but Elnor was beyond contempt. The Qowat Milat were subversive outliers. A freakish anomaly of Romulan culture and as a male, Elnor was a worthless aberration. An arrogant, mouthy mama's boy, pretending to be a man. Elnor had earned his nickname and should be ashamed to call himself a Romulan. It was enough to force any self-respecting true Romulan to hate him but to add his crime on top of all that? It was vile, shocking, perverse. Elnor killed a man he knew. A good, intelligent man who believed in the Romulan people and worked to rebuild what Picard and the Federation helped to destroy. A man who was not only tolerant of the Qowat Milat but friendly with their leader. A man respected and admired by the community, and Elnor took his life without a second thought. All to protect the great Admiral fucking Picard. Tenqem wasn't even going to harm the old man. Tenqem just wanted to vent his frustrations, to scare Picard, to force him to admit his betrayal, but Elnor took Tenqem's life with barely a warning and then disappeared like a coward. Well, there would be no escape this time, and the sisterboy was going to pay for what he had done._

Elnor refused to comply with Therrura's demand to lie down on the table so, the big man employed brute force. He slugged Elnor in the mouth and split the young monk's lip open. Then another blow to his stomach and Elnor doubled over with a grunt. Therrura brought his fist down on the back of Elnor's skull and sent him to his knees, then heaved him up and threw him down on the table. Kikain moved over to them and, along with Therrura, pulled the struggling Elnor's arms over his head and fastened them to the chain attached to the floor. He fought as they wrestled his ankles into the restraints at the other end of the table and managed to kick Therrura in the face, but in the end, they pinned him down. Angry and with a sore jaw, Therrura then brought his fist down into Elnor's solar plexus. He gasped as all the air rushed out of his lungs and struggled to catch another breath. Kikain dismissed the third man with a gesture, sat in the chair, and waited for Elnor to breathe normally again.

“Why are you doing this?” Picard asked, a pained look on his face.

“Because he earned it,” Kikain casually replied. “You were there, _Admiral_ , do you believe Tenqem deserved beheading in front of a crowd of onlookers?"

Picard lowered his eyes.

_He knew Kikain was right about Tenqem. The man didn't deserve to die, and he had been angry with Elnor over the killing. Once they were aboard La Sirena, he chastised him and demanded Elnor never draw his weapon again unless explicitly instructed to do so. He could understand Kikain's anger over Tenqem's death, but torturing Elnor was egregiously disproportionate, and revenge never led to satisfaction. He knew that even if Kikain killed them both, the man's anger would still be there._

“No, I do not believe he deserved to die,” Picard replied as he met Kikain’s stare again. “But what you are doing now will change nothing. Our deaths, no matter how prolonged and painful, will not bring you gratification.”

Kikain chuckled softly. “Yes, well, we will see how much gratification it brings me to teach the mama’s boy over here a lesson he sorely deserves.” Then he rose to his feet and approached the table. He leaned over Elnor and smirked. “Do you think Tenqem deserved to die, Sisterboy?”

"I gave him a choice, and I regret the one he made," Elnor replied with a defiant glare that wiped the smirk from Kikain's face.

Kikain's eyes betrayed the festering rage inside him. "I will never cease to be amazed by how much the sight of you pisses me off." He kicked the fulcrum lever, and the head of the table dropped several inches. He hauled the chair over and sat in it. Then he yanked a filthy rag from his pocket and pulled it tight over Elnor's eyes. "Therrura," he said calmly. The big Romulan picked up the jug from under the table and began pouring its contents over the rag. As the cloth became saturated, Kikain unfolded it to cover Elnor's nose and mouth as well, while Therrura continued the steady flow of water. Elnor jerked against his restraints and arched his back as his gag reflex kicked in, and he couldn't breathe. Once the jug was empty, Therrura left the room to refill it, and Kikain removed the rag from Elnor's face. He gasped and coughed multiple times, desperately trying to fill his lungs with air before Therrura returned with more water. His eyes were wide with panic, and his chest wracked with spasms. Therrura reappeared within a couple of minutes, and Picard watched in horror as the two men repeated the appalling cruelty. The expression on Kikain's face was one of indifference. He appeared to be neither enjoying Elnor's suffering nor disturbed by it. Again, the young Romulan fought against his restraints with such ferocity, Picard was sure he would seriously injure himself. When Kikain removed the rag for the second time, Picard pleaded with him to stop.

Kikain chuckled again. “This is supposed to be upsetting, old man. That’s why it’s torture.”

“If you intend to kill us, just kill us," Picard said. "I see no reason to continue terrorizing Elnor like this."

"Oh, I'm not going to kill either of you," Kikain replied as a nasty smile crossed his lips. "You are going to kill him, and he is going to beg you to do it. It's just a matter of time."

Picard’s eyes widened with horrified shock. “You cannot be serious!”

“Unlike you, _Admiral_ , I take the cold-blooded murder of a friend very seriously," Kikain said, and Picard stared at him, his mouth gaped in disbelief as Therrura returned with a full jug. "Sorry, _Admiral_ ," Kikain smirked. "This has been a lovely chat, but I've got a brat to break so, you'll have to excuse me." He turned back toward the table, and the rag went over Elnor's face again. After the third round, Kikain looked down at the young monk with curiosity. "Do you still believe my friend deserved to die?" he asked and waited for him to catch his breath.

Elnor stared up at him, eyes flashing with righteous defiance. "Fight a Qowat Milat, and the outcome is not in doubt."

Kikain's curious expression turned cold, and he gently patted Elnor's cheek. "Suit yourself, Sisterboy." The rag came back over Elnor's face, and in the next second, he was suffocating again. The terrifying show went on for nearly half an hour before Kikain finally instructed Therrura to stop. "I think he's had enough for today." His ankles were released, and Elnor rolled onto his side to gulp air into his burning lungs. Therrura removed the chain that held his wrists and hauled him off the table. Elnor's knees crumpled and, his captor yanked him to his feet before dragging him over toward the ceiling restraint. Once Therrura had Elnor fastened to the anchor, he winched it skyward until the young monk was on his toes. Kikain watched silently from the door, and then he, and Therrura left the room without another word.

Picard looked at Elnor, and the terrible sorrow in his eyes was almost worse than the torture. "Elnor, I am-" the old man tried to say but was interrupted.

“Please do not say you’re sorry,” Elnor said, his voice raspy and weak. “I will not be broken.”

“They will come for us,” Picard assured and hoped he sounded more sure than he felt.

_He knew the truth. Even the strongest men have a breaking point, and Elnor would reach his eventually. He wasn't a religious man by any stretch, but right now, he was praying._


	3. The Interrogation

Rios somehow found himself with the unenviable task of babysitting the agitated Feeonix. She spent the last several hours wearing a path in the holographic rug of the La Barre study with her endless pacing. Rios sat quietly on the sofa and watched her talk to herself, and make the occasional exaggerated gesture with her hands.

_He was worried. They were all worried. Two of their own had been violently abducted with nefarious intentions. Nobody wanted to think about what was likely happening to them. He had known a man who survived torture at the hands of the Tal Shiar, and his thoughts kept circling back to that man. Earth-shattering wasn't exactly an accurate description, but it was the only one he could come up with. Even if they managed to find Picard and Elnor in time, neither of them would ever be the same again. The lingering effects of torture were lifelong and Elnor, especially, still had most of his life in front of him. He knew that whatever the kid faced at the hands of his countrymen would almost certainly follow him for the rest of his days if he survived at all. He also knew Naseema's train of thought was running along the same track, and even though he felt a pang of sympathy for her, he wished she would bottle up at least some of her emotions. She wasn't helping the situation with her half-crazed behaviour, and he was more than a little unsure about Jagger's involvement as well. The Feeonix, as a species, were infamously wild and emotional animals. Unpredictable, uncontrollable, and lethal. Naseema, particularly so. Tracking down and rescuing Picard, and Elnor was a daunting enough task without the added stress of Naseema potentially annihilating the entire Qiris sector in the process and launching a war against the Romulan Free State._

Emil appeared in the study, on the sofa beside Rios. “How goes the psychiatric emergency?” he asked quietly.

“We appear to have reached a plateau,” Rios replied. “She hasn’t escalated past the constant pacing and unintelligible chatter.” Emil nodded and stood up to approach the Feeonix.

She caught sight of him and narrowed her eyes. “Go away.”

“If you would allow me to recommend something to alleviate your anxiety?” Emil gently suggested.

Naseema walked past him and huffed. “Do they all involve you injecting me with something?”

“Yes,” the hologram admitted as he folded his hands in front of himself.

“Then I am going to have to decline,” she replied.

"It may be in your best-" he started to argue until she growled at him. "Never mind." He returned to the sofa. "She certainly is a challenge, isn't she?" he asked Rios, who sighed with frustration and defeat.

“I enjoy a challenge,” he replied. “She is something else entirely.”

Emil nodded. “If you would permit me to offer my recommendations to alleviate _your_ anxiety?”

Rios looked at the hologram and shook his head. “Go away.” Emil shrugged and vanished. Rios got up from the sofa and went over to the sidebar. “I’m having a drink,” he said aloud and picked up two glasses. He held one out in Naseema’s direction and raised his eyebrows.

She stopped pacing and nodded. “Thank you.” She shoved some of Picard’s things aside and sat on the desk.

Rios brought the drink over and took a seat in front of her. “So, when did you decide to call Earth home, sweet, home?”

“Eight hundred and forty-six.”

Rios’ eyebrows went up again, in surprise this time. “The year?”

Naseema nodded. “My very first battle was against Vikings.”

Rios’ eyes widened. “That must have been something. I’ve read some Norse history.”

“Yes, it was an eye-opener,” she replied. “Everything for a long time afterward paled pretty heavily by comparison.”

“I’ll bet.”

A sad look crossed her face. “They were not a cruel people though, not like others,” she said with a mournful tinge and gave her companion a perceptive look. “Legends are often distorted.”

Rios nodded and studied her for a few seconds.

_He got the hint. It was fair to say her species was cloaked in legend, but his experience so far indicated that the legend was closer to reality than Naseema wanted to believe. He needed to try and steer the conversation away from topics like cruelty and violence, but it seemed like those things made up the bulk of Naseema's memories. It was sad, really. A being as old as her holding on to the worst things from her life the way she did. Picard talked endlessly about history, and every time the admiral brought up some ancient battle or other horrors, he found himself wondering if the Feeonix had witnessed it, was involved in it, or possibly even caused it. Her centuries of combat experience made her very good at what she did, but it left her with deep psychological scars. She had moments of joviality, and for the most part, she seemed a content person, but there were always those traces of melancholy and instability that never quite disappeared. He understood that, at least the melancholy. He had the same problem, but he couldn't imagine living with it for more than a thousand years._

"Do you mind if I ask a personal question?" he ventured, and she gave him a permitting nod. "What do you see in Elnor?"

She let out an awkward laugh. “I am unsure if I completely understand your meaning, Mr. Rios. Are you wondering what someone as old and damaged as myself wants with a cloistered eighteen-year-old who has almost no life experience? Do you suspect my motives are dubious?”

“I wouldn’t say _dubious_ , but you have to admit, it's an unusual combination," he replied.

She sighed. "Elnor is as authentic and openhearted as they come. I do not encounter that with any measurable frequency and age simply cannot quantify a pure soul like his. Those things are far more important to me than knowledge and life experience.”

Rios leaned back in his chair and sipped his drink. “I think I can understand that.”

“I am aware that I am not the shining example of magnanimous benevolence I should be,” she said. “The truth is, I have allowed my darker half to grow stronger over the centuries to the detriment of those around me, and I need an anchor to keep me from drifting into old habits.”

"Elnor is your anchor."

“He is,” she verified. “I have experienced a great deal of loss in the latest chapter of my life, as have all of you, but unlike you, I pose a much greater threat when I am left adrift, and your worries are not unfounded, Cristobel. I fear what I am capable of as much as you do."

_That was the first time she ever used his given name and his full one at that. He recognized she was trying to open up to him and let him know she understood why she made him uneasy. She was afraid, too, of herself as much as she was for Elnor and Picard._

“Does he have any idea that the fate of the galaxy rests on his shoulders?” Rios asked with a furrowed brow.

She chuckled sadly. “ _The fate of the galaxy_ might be an exaggeration, but he understands a great deal more than most give him credit. He is naive but not imperceptive, and he is not afraid to call me out on my behaviour, which is something I need."

"Do you love him?" he asked. She lowered her eyes and nodded. Rios put his hand on her knee. "We are going to find them and get them back." She nodded as silent tears began running down her face, and then Raffi came in.

“He’s awake,” she said to Rios.

Naseema turned to her with a confused frown. “Who is awake?”

Raffi and Rios exchanged a glance, and the latter looked at the Feeonix. "The Romulan strike team left somebody behind. We've got him locked up in the cell near the cargo bay," he told her. Her eyes widened, and before Rios could say anything else, she leapt off the desk and pushed past Raffi as she flew out of the room. They chased after her, and as they passed the mess table where Soji was sitting with Agnes, Raffi motioned dramatically for the dark-haired android to follow them. The three women took Jagger's advice and prepared a backup plan in case Naseema did exactly what they were afraid she was going to do. When they reached the cell, she already stood in front of it, throwing daggers at the captive Romulan with her eyes.

“Keep your cool,” Rios cautioned as he came up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a few seconds. When she opened them, the orange rings were pulsating intensely.

“Where the fuck are they?” she asked menacingly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the Romulan man said with a shrug.

Naseema turned to Rios. “Open the door.”

“Not until you calm down.”

She took another breath. “Why did none of you tell me he was here?”

Raffi was incredulous. “Seriously? Why do you think?”

“He must be interrogated immediately!” Naseema loudly insisted.

"We're going to do that, but I don't think it's the best idea for you to be involved," Rios told her, and she eyed him briefly.

“I will stay out here," she finally agreed. Rios, Raffi, and Soji all looked at each other while Agnes quietly stayed out of the crossfire.

_She was still shaken by the attack and extremely worried about Picard and Elnor, and what might happen to Rios during the rescue attempt. She secretly hoped he would stay on the ship with her and let Naseema and Jagger play commandos instead. However, she also understood he harboured concerns about Naseema's sanity and how far she would allow herself to go to get Elnor back._

The three finally nodded in agreement, and Rios released the force field. He and Raffi stepped into the room, but he paused, turned around, and handed Agnes his weapon. Her eyes widened as she reluctantly accepted it.

"If anything happens, you shoot," he told her, and she nodded, still wide-eyed.

"You are aware that will not affect me," Naseema pointed out, and Rios looked at her.

“It’s not for you.”

Everyone's eyes turned to the captive Romulan, who already appeared belligerent and uncooperative. Raffi folded her arms across her chest and cocked her hip. "Your buddies left you behind, honey," she started. "So, you might as well help us out since it doesn't appear they give a shit about you."

“We expected a few casualties,” he replied coolly. “I’m not telling you anything.”

“If you’re not going to tell us anything useful, how about you just tell us why?” Rios asked. “Is this about Kantar’s ship?”

“Nope.”

"Is this about Tenqem Adrev?" Raffi asked, and the Romulan smirked in reply. "Here's my theory," she went on. "Tenqem Adrev had friends, like you, for example, and those friends are super pissed that Elnor killed him. So, they're out for revenge. How am I doing so far?"

“It’s a nice theory,” the man said.

Rios was getting irritated and not at all interested in hiding it. “What the fuck is wrong with you?! He’s just a kid!”

“If he’s old enough to wield a weapon, he’s old enough to accept the consequences,” the Romulan said.

“So, this _is_ about Tenqem Adrev,” Raffi affirmed.

"There is nothing you can do to me that will entice me to tell you anything," he replied nastily. Raffi and Rios looked at each other. The Romulan captive was right. They weren't going to torture him and handing him over to the Rangers would be pointless. They wouldn't get anything out of him either. Maybe they should let Naseema have a crack at him. She was scary when she got angry, and she was already most of the way there. It wouldn't take much to push her over the edge.

“Maybe we’ll hand you over to the Qowat Milat on Vashti,” Rios finally said. “I’m sure they’d be interested in hearing what you and your buddies have been up to.”

The Romulan laughed. “The nuns won’t have any more luck than you getting information from me.”

“Did you even know Adrev?” Naseema angrily cut in. “Or are you just hired muscle?” The Romulan allowed a flash of surprise to appear in his eyes and gave himself away. “Tell me,” she continued. “What is the going rate for abducting an old man and a teenage boy? You low-rent motherfu-”

He glared at her. "Fuck you, Feeonix," he snarled and then spat on the floor. That was enough for Naseema. She rushed into the room, grabbed the man by his collar and threw him to the deck. Then she straddled him, crushed his throat in her hand and leaned into his face.

"If anything happens to them while I am wasting time with you, I will cut you into tiny pieces starting with your miserable pointed ears," she seethed and yanked the knife from her boot. She pressed it into the tip of the man's ear, but he only laughed again.

“Go ahead and kill me, bitch.”

"Naseema, that's enough," Rios told her, but he might as well have been talking to the wall. She let go of the man's throat, brought her fist up, and slugged him hard in the face. He grunted, surprised by how hard she hit him, and stopped smirking. She punched him again and then grabbed his ear and started cutting.

"Whoa! Whoa! Too far!" Raffi cried as she tried to pull Naseema off the man. The flame in the Feeonix's eyes flared up as she shoved Raffi backward, and the air started to make the ominous crackling noise that signified impending flames. Naseema could hear the low growl inside her.

_He has taken what is ours. We want to feel his blood on our hands._

Naseema knew if she killed him, she would get nothing and tried to push the voice back, but it wouldn't relent.

_We need this. He must be punished. Kill him. DO IT NOW!_

"Don't do something you'll regret later," Rios tried to reason, and for a second, he thought he was getting through to her. She paused, but in that time, an image of Elnor flashed in her mind, and when it was gone, the last shred of her control went with it. The predator won. She let out an unholy roar as her eyes filled up with light, and she sliced off the tip of the captive man's ear before moving the knife to his throat. Her companions all rushed her at once. Raffi and Rios grabbed her arms and hauled her backward off the prisoner. As she fought them, Soji put her in a headlock.

"I'm so sorry for this," she said as she pressed the hypospray against the Feeonix's neck. Naseema staggered back a few steps before her eyes rolled up in her skull, and she collapsed.

***

When Jagger arrived a little over two days later, Naseema was still unconscious. Rios took him directly to see their prisoner. "She forced us to sedate her, and we decided it was best to keep her that way until you got here,” he told the Feeonix.

“I figured that would probably happen,” Jagger said. “Her temper has become more intense since Data died. Not that she was ever what you would call _mellow_ , but you know what I mean."

“Intense is one word for it,” Rios replied. “She cut a piece of the guy’s ear off and tried to slit his throat before we managed to get her off him.”

"You guys must have been on her fast if all she got was a piece of his ear," Jagger chuckled, and Rios looked at him a little appalled.

“We’re not in the torture business.”

"Well, lucky for you, I just came out of retirement," Jagger replied bluntly. As they reached the cell, he dropped his bag beside the door but held on to the small bundle under his other arm. Rios released the force field, and Jagger walked calmly over to the bench, sat down at the opposite end, and rolled the bundle out toward the prisoner. Rios took a look at what was in it and sighed uneasily. Jagger had an entire set of antique dental tools, polished and gleaming. The Romulan man stared at Jagger and squared his shoulders. Jagger stood up and moved in front of him. He put his hand on the man's forehead and shoved him into the wall. He held him there while he reached over and took out an extractor. He showed the man the tool and then looked him in the eyes. "Where are they taking my friends?"

When the Romulan cursed Jagger out, Rios left.

“You left?” Raffi exclaimed when he appeared at the mess table and told them what was happening.

"It's not like I could stop him," Rios replied with frustration. "You've seen the size of him, and he's stronger than a fucking synth." He paused and looked at Soji. "No offence."

"None taken," she replied as she held her hands up.

"I can't decide if this has gotten worse or somehow better," Agnes said, almost talking to herself. The other three looked at her in bewilderment. "I mean, if he gets the information we need, and we find Picard and Elnor in time, it could prevent an entire war from starting."

“So, you’re fine with Jagger torturing someone since torture is what we’re trying to stop?” Raffi asked.

“I might be,” Soji admitted. “I want them back more than I want the moral high ground.”

Rios let a heavy sigh escape. “Yeah, me too.”

"Oh, great!" Raffi said with sarcasm as she threw her hands up. "I'm so glad we've reached the consensus that we're just going to let those two lunatics cut a bloody swath across the galaxy to find Elnor and JL!"

“Hey!” Soji shot back. “Those Romulans attacked _us_!”

Raffi threw her a look. “Because we all know how much love you have for Romulans.”

“I like Elnor.”

Rios rubbed his forehead in exasperation. “Fighting about this is pointless. Were you able to get a hold of Seven, Raff?”

Raffi exhaled a disappointed sigh. “Yes, but she’s on the other side of the sector and is currently without a ship. It’ll be at least a few days before she can catch up with us.”

“Maybe we should contact Starfleet Command?” Agnes suggested.

"Already did," Raffi replied. "We're still looking at days before we get any help. Besides, Starfleet doesn't have any jurisdiction in this sector, and I highly doubt the Romulan Free State is going to offer up any assistance to them."

“So, we’re on our own,” Rios said, defeated.

“Can we contact Elnor’s sect on Vashti?” Soji offered. “I’m betting they’ll give us any help they can.”

"I'm still trying to figure out how to bypass the control center on Vashti. I already tried going through them, and they promptly told me to fuck off," Raffi grumbled.

“How long until we get the warp drive back?” Soji asked Rios.

He shrugged. "Ian is working on it. A few more hours, maybe?"

“Lay in a course, El Capitan," Jagger said to Rios as he suddenly appeared in the mess, wiping blood off his hands with a handkerchief. "They're heading back to Vashti."

"I take it, our guest finally talked?" Rios asked.

Jagger reached into his pocket and tossed two molars on the table. "I had to pull out a couple of his teeth before he spilled his guts, but he told me what I wanted to know."

“Which is what?” Raffi asked, crossing her arms.

"This Kar Kantar character doesn't have anything to do with this," Jagger replied. "He, like our friend in there, was hired to pull off the kidnapping and take the responsible parties, and their captives back to Vashti. Outside of that, he doesn't know anything relevant, but he did offer up the notion that this isn't just about revenge. It may also be a play by the Romulan Rebirth to strong-arm the Qowat Milat on Vashti to pick a side. Apparently, they're trying to be Switzerland, and it's pissing a lot of people off."

Raffi brought her hands up to her face and furrowed her brow in distress. “They’re going to make an example of Elnor...and JL.”

“That’s certainly the impression I got,” Jagger confirmed.

“I guess we’re going back to Vashti,” Rios said with a shrug.

Jagger nodded. “Do you mind if I go see my girl now?”

“Yeah, of course,” Rios replied. “Crew quarters are that way. Second door to the right.”

“And straight on till morning?” Jagger chuckled and was met with blank stares. “No one, eh?”

"You Feeonix need to update your humour," Rios sighed. "It hasn't been nineteen hundred for a long time now."

“Hey! Peter Pan is timeless you, philistine!" Jagger yelled after him as he headed for the bridge.

“Even Peter Pan grew up eventually,” Rios called back. “You should consider doing that yourself!”

“Hu-mons,” Jagger muttered to himself as he walked off towards the crew quarters.

***

When Naseema finally woke up, Jagger was sitting in the bed next to her while he thumbed through a trashy paperback he gave to Elnor.

“How long have I been out?” she groaned.

“A few days,” he replied, still looking at the book.

“A few _days_!” she cried as she bolted upright and moved to get off the bed.

“Relax, girl,” Jagger said and put the book down. “I already interrogated the prisoner. We’re on our way to Vashti.”

She looked at him warily. “What did you do to him?”

"Nothing worse than what you tried to do," he replied. "I'll give those Romulans one thing they're hard as fuck."

“Jagger,” she ventured, still eyeing him. “Is he still alive?”

"He sure is, and I didn't fuck him up nearly as bad as you did," he said and smiled mischievously. "Thank you, John Henry Holliday."

Naseema cringed. “Oh god, you brought the dental kit.”

Jagger laughed. “Some things will never get old.”

“What did he tell you?” she asked.

“That he and Kar Kantar were hired,” he told her. “And that they’re taking Elnor and the admiral back to Vashti.”

"They will never let us beam down to the surface," Naseema lamented. "If we do not catch them before they reach the planet, we are going to have to use violence."

Jagger arched an eyebrow at her. “I love how you say that as though that wasn’t your plan all along.”

“What are we going to do?” she asked as she started to cry.

“Hey,” Jagger said as he softened his tone and reached over to brush her hair away from her face. “We’re going to get them back.”

“I cannot stop thinking about what they are going through,” she whispered.

He gave her a sympathetic smile. "I know. I can't either, but we need to keep it together. Getting sloppy drunk and crying about it isn't going to help them, and neither is losing your shit and blowing up a planet.”

“What if they are already dead?”

Jagger sighed and lowered his eyes. “I am going to pray that you don’t destroy the entire star system.”

“Jag-”

“Let’s worry about that if and when it happens, okay?”

She nodded and wiped the tears from her face. “I do not know if I can go through this again.”

“I know,” he said and was quiet for a minute before he held the book up and tried to lighten the conversation. “Does he like this one?”

She gave him a weak smile. "He likes the ones with more sex in them better, but yes."

Jagger laughed. "Yeah, I like those better too."

“He is particularly fond of those silly romance novels Juliet threw in the crate you sent,” she said with a small chuckle.

Jagger laughed again. “Those weren’t Juliet’s they were Javier’s.”

Naseema rolled her eyes. “That figures.”

Jagger smirked obnoxiously. “Are they giving him any good ideas?”

She gave him a side-eye glance. “You are an idiot.”

“Have you taken that serum yet?” he asked.

“No,” she sighed. “However, I have spent an inordinate amount of time contemplating it.”

“Wow,” Jagger replied. “I must say, I’m impressed by your restraint. I imagined you would have guzzled that shit down and pounced on him a few times over by now.”

She shook her head at him. “Classy.”

“Well, you could light some candles,” he chortled. “That makes everything classy.”

She rolled her eyes again. “No. No, it does not.” Then she softened her expression and looked at her friend with seriousness. “Besides, even if I had taken it, he is not ready. He is still dealing with what Salome did to him.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s fair,” Jagger said, a little sheepishly.

“How is Salome?”

Jagger shrugged. "She's actually making an effort to work on herself, so we'll see."

“Does she still hate me?” Naseema asked.

"On bad days, yes, but for the most part, she finally accepted what she did and that the consequences were a necessary evil," he replied. "On the bright side, she doesn't seem to hate Elnor anymore."

Tears started running down Naseema's face again. "He would be better off if he had never met me."

"Hey," Jagger said with a frown. "He'd probably be dead if he never met you, and it would break his heart to hear you talk like that. What's happening now has nothing to do with you and isn't your fault. Blaming yourself for things out of your control isn't constructive, and it's not going to save Elnor or Picard. You need to keep your chin up and your head in the game, alright?"

She nodded. “I know, I just-”

"I know exactly what you're going to say," he interrupted. "Just because you're older and have been around the block a few thousand times doesn't mean you can or should protect him from everything. He still needs to live his life. The best you can do is love him, and he's going to need you to do that once we get him back."

She nodded again as Jagger brushed the tears from her face.


	4. Second Thoughts

By the fifth day with no food and almost no water, Elnor was nearly too weak to fight back, but it didn't stop him from trying. He kicked and clawed each time Kikain and Therrura strapped him to that dreadful table and held the rag over his face. The feeling of suffocating was terrifying, and there was no getting accustomed to it. He jerked and convulsed violently every time. It was a miracle he hadn't injured himself beyond a few muscle tears. Picard's pleas for mercy went ignored and only seemed to strengthen Kikain's resolve to break Elnor down until he was a trembling shadow of himself who would eventually beg his mentor to put him out of his misery.

However, the plan was not progressing fast enough for Kikain's liking. He allowed his comrades to take turns repeatedly beating the young monk with his hands tied behind his back. He escalated the water torture to twice a day, even stretching the sessions out to nearly an hour at a time. He kept Elnor strung up like a fish waiting to be gutted, in front of Picard, until he realized they kept each other’s spirits up. Then it was back to the dank little room when they weren't actively tormenting him. Kikain hoped leaving Elnor alone with his thoughts might serve to undermine his resolve to persevere. It was working, but Elnor was determined not to let his captors see it.

Sleep was hard to come by for the young Romulan even though he was exhausted, physically and mentally. The room was cold, and though he no longer sat in a puddle of water, the floor was still wet. It made him shiver continuously, and after a while, the constant moisture caused his skin to be irritated. He prayed and tried to focus his thoughts on happy things, but as the hours dragged on, it became harder to do that. He had no idea how many days had passed, but he knew it had been long enough for him to start wondering if there would be a rescue. Surely, if their friends were still alive, they would have found them by now. What if Kar Kantar had destroyed _La Sirena_ and everyone was dead? All hope would be lost, and he would die here. Kikain would become frustrated and kill him, or he would eventually succumb to shock and injury. The only thing he was sure of, he would never beg Picard to kill him.

_He tried to remember the words to songs Naseema taught him. Some of them were silly and didn't seem to mean anything, but she always insisted they were classics. Whatever that was. She had a pretty voice, and even her laugh sounded musical. He missed her laughter and her warm energy field. He was cold, all the time, and would give almost anything to feel that kind of amazing warmth again. She would come for them. He knew she would. He just had to give her some time._

He sat on the floor with his back against the wall and hummed as he tried to remember the words. Outside the door, Kikain was very still and quietly listening. A satisfied smirk crept across his face as he listened to what he thought was Elnor crying, but when he listened closer, he heard him softly singing to himself.

_Sounds of laughter, shades of life_

_Are ringing through my open ears_

Kikain’s smirk quickly melted into a scowl.

_Which shines around me like a million suns_

_It calls me on and on across the universe_

Things were not going how he planned. Elnor was proving to be stronger and more determined than he anticipated. He thought he would have broken by the little brat by now. He underestimated Elnor's mettle and knew if he wanted to reach his end game before someone came looking for the old man, he would have to increase the pressure. He walked away from the door, already working on a stronger method to punish Elnor for his crime.

_Nothing’s gonna change my world_

The door grinding open woke him with a start, and before he could even react, Therrura had him by his hair. The big man heaved Elnor to his feet, and he winced against the sting of his hair pulled from his scalp. Therrura barely let him get any footing before dragging him out of the tiny cell and down to the room where Picard was. At least their captors were treating the aged admiral better. Picard's prison was warm and dry, and he was receiving regular meals, so physically, he was fine. His emotional health was a different story. After nearly a week of being forced to witness Elnor repeatedly brutalized by their captors, Picard looked as though he'd aged more than a decade. Restrained and unable to move off the cot, there was nothing he could do to help Elnor. He tried reasoning with Kikain, but the man was so angry and convinced of the righteousness of his actions that Picard might as well have been talking to himself. After his arguments on morality failed, he tried begging the men to stop, but that only elicited laughter. It went beyond revenge for Tenqem Adrev's death at this point. Their captors now took out all their anger at everything that had ever gone wrong in their lives, on Elnor. These men were enraged at the universe, for destroying their planet, for forcing them to claw their way up from poverty, for abandoning them. Elnor had made the mistake of defending someone he cared about from that rage, and now he was facing the full brunt of what it was capable of. These men no longer saw their young countryman as a person, only as a punching bag.

“Good morning, Sisterboy,” Kikain trilled as Therrura brought him into the room. Elnor looked at him with the steady, defiant gaze that had become his trademark in his dealings with Kikain, and said nothing. Picard glanced between the two as a hard knot formed inside him. He was doing everything in his power not to let on the toll this ordeal was taking on him, but the now constant look of sorrow in his eyes was something he couldn't hide. Kikain saw it, and so did Elnor, but the young monk refused to give in to that same feeling even though it stirred within him, fed on his misery, and grew stronger with each passing day. Although, the spark of insolence in Elnor’s eyes remained. Kikain couldn’t pull his focus from it, and it infuriated him. Even after five days of the ruthless, relentless suffering he subjected the boy to, that spark refused to budge, and Kikain knew he would never taste the sweet flavour of satisfaction until he saw it extinguished.

_Perhaps that would happen today._

Kikain motioned to Therrura, and the big man wrestled Elnor onto the table and fixed his arms over his head. Then he restrained Elnor's ankles and made sure to avoid the kicking he knew would come. Kikain sat in the chair at the head of the table and looked down at his nemesis. "I've got something special planned for us today," he said with a sly smile. He gave Therrura another wordless instruction, and the big man left the room. When he returned, he had another man with him. The smaller man, whose role up to this point, was to hold a disruptor trained on Picard whenever Elnor's disobedience became irritating. This time though, the man had a device in his hands. Kikain slid the chair away to allow the man to stand in his place. Without a word, the man affixed two nodes, one on each of Elnor's temples and took a step back. He looked to Kikain for command, and when his leader nodded, he began pressing buttons on the small control panel in his hands. What happened next would be fused in Picard’s memory for the rest of his days.

An electrical current surged through the nodes into Elnor's brain. Every muscle in his body seized. His back arched so violently, only his heels and head remained in contact with the table. His eyes flew open and bulged out of their sockets. His jaw clenched, and a terrible groan escaped him. Therrura was disturbed and had to turn his face away from the gruesome sight. After a few seconds, the man shut the current off, and Elnor's body thumped back to the table, limp.

"Whoa!" Kikain exclaimed with glee, and Picard stared at him with renewed horror.

“Please!” he cried. “This is beyond savagery!”

Then Elnor started gagging. With nothing in his belly, he vomited stomach acid and bile, and unable to turn on his side, he was choking on it. Kikain waved his hand at Therrura, who reluctantly moved to roll Elnor's head over so he wouldn’t aspirate any more of the fluids into his lungs. Kikain noticed Therrura's sudden change in demeanour and looked at him with mild disdain.

“Is this too much for you?” he asked derisively. Therrura didn’t answer but lowered his eyes. “Fine,” Kikain said as he got up from his seat and left the room. While he was gone, Picard turned his attention to the big Romulan.

“You know how wrong this is,” he said. “I can see it in your eyes. You need to put a stop to this before it goes any further.”

“Shut up,” Therrura flatly replied.

"He's suffered enough for any crime you believe he has committed," Picard continued, and when Therrura looked at him, he could see the flicker of second thoughts in the man's eyes. Before Therrura could respond, Kikain returned. He had two more rags in his hand, and he roughly blindfolded Elnor with one while he used the other as a gag.

"There," he barked with annoyance. "Now, you won't have to look, and hopefully, he won't bite his own tongue off." Then he plunked himself back into the chair. "Sivit, you may continue.” The small man nodded and fiddled with his control panel again. Then the macabre display repeated itself. Elnor seized on the table in what had to be the most excruciating pain of his young life. The convulsion was so aggressive, he broke his wrist straining against his bonds. Picard was sure he was going to be sick. Elnor was given only a few minutes reprieve before the third jolt came, but when it was over, Therrura had enough.

He put his large hand over the control panel. “Stop. Not this.”

Kikain eyed him with suspicion for a minute but ultimately nodded in agreement. “Alright, that will do for today,” he told Sivit. The smaller man removed the nodes and left. Still unsure about his comrade’s sudden balk, Kikain followed Sivit. Therrura unhooked a limp, moaning Elnor from the table’s restraints, removed the gag, and heaved him over his shoulder.

He looked at Picard before he left. “The Tal Shiar tortured my father with that device.”

Picard felt a sudden, uplifting rush of hope.

_He knew he needed to focus his attention on Therrura now. Even if La Sirena was destroyed, Naseema would likely survive, but she would be in her natural state and disoriented. She would need time to find them, time, Elnor was running out of. They may not be able to get off the ship, but if he could convince Therrura to help Elnor, he could buy them some of what they so desperately needed._

Therrura took Elnor back to the tiny cell and carried him over to the far side of the room where the floor was driest. Then he rested him on the floor before taking the blindfold off and checking to make sure he was still breathing. Elnor opened his eyes and met Therrura’s. For the first time, the big man wasn’t looking at him with disdain.

_He could see the foggy confusion in Elnor's eyes, unsure of where he was or how he'd gotten there. It was a look he recognized from his father. Accused of attending secret reunification meetings his father was arrested by the Tal Shiar and tortured for the names of co-conspirators. The Romulan secret police hadn't killed his father, but the effects of what they'd done followed his entire family to this day. He knew Picard was right, this had gone way too far. He could see how misguided his hatred was now, and he was ashamed that he allowed himself to become involved in the systematic torture of a child. He knew his father would be ashamed of him too. He wouldn't be able to stop Kikain from continuing, but perhaps he could find a way to lessen the boy's agony...or maybe put him out of his misery altogether. He had access to the medical supplies. There was bound to be something in there he could use to make it painless...like putting an injured animal to sleep. Elnor wouldn't even have to know it was happening._

“I’m sorry,” Therrura said quietly as he straightened himself up and left the room. Elnor watched him leave until the door slid shut, and he could no longer see anything. He didn't have the strength to be angry at Therrura, or anyone else. He lay there on the slimy floor and knew Kikain was going to do that horrible thing to him again. His head throbbed in a way he’d never experienced before. He could still feel tiny aftershocks inside his skull and muscle spasms in his face. His jaw ached, and the digestive juices he vomited left a caustic trail down his throat to his lungs. The pain in his wrist was intense. He tried to adjust his restraint to relieve the pressure of his swelling flesh pressing against it, but the sharp jolt he felt every time he moved his hands made his eyes water. He wasn’t sure which was worse, the water torture or this new horror Kikain seemed to take such delight in. Even with the static sound in his ears, as he felt his muscles tearing from the force of the convulsions, and the bones in his wrist breaking, he could still hear Kikain’s gleeful exclamation as a distant echo, drowning out Picard’s pleading.

_He wanted so badly to remain strong and not let Kikain see his spirit eroding. He wanted Picard to know that he could be brave for both of them, that he could withstand Kikain's punishment, and that he would never give in, but he was losing that battle with himself. His body was reaching its limit, and his mind wasn't far behind. The hope of a rescue, that he'd been holding onto, so tightly, was fading. Where were their friends? Why hadn't Naseema come for him yet? He thought she loved him, but like his hope, that belief was fading now too. The dark thoughts edged ever closer. Nobody was coming to help him. He was going to die here, scared, in pain, broken at the hands of men who bullied him his entire life, all because of his loyalty to Picard. He was beginning to wish he'd never met the man._

Elnor finally felt the hot tears rise, and refuse to be driven back. He quietly let them spill out and run down his battered face. He was so dehydrated, it was a miracle he could even produce them, and their high salt content stung the places where his skin was broke. It was a relief to be rid of them, and once they were spent, he felt at least some of his strength and resolve return. Then the door slid open, and Therrura's massive silhouette appeared. Elnor quickly wiped the evidence of his moment of weakness from his cheeks as he slid back toward the wall. Therrura approached him with a cup in his hand. He crouched down and placed it on the floor. Then he gingerly put his hands on Elnor and eased him upright into a sitting position.

“I brought you some water," he said as he picked up the cup. "I took it from the mess, so it's clean this time." Elnor looked at the big man with uncertainty as he tried to take the cup, but he couldn’t wrap the fingers of his broken wrist around it. Therrura saw him wince with pain and kept his hand in place to steady it as Elnor guided it to his lips. He had almost forgotten how thirsty he was until the cool water was in his mouth, and he gulped it down, afraid Therrura might yank it away at any time, but the big man didn’t. He waited until the cup was empty and withdrew it carefully. "I'll bring you something to eat later, but it probably won't be much," he said. Elnor still didn't say anything as he watched Therrura leave.

_He wasn't sure what to think of this sudden kindness from a man he'd only ever known to communicate with curse words, and fists. Therrura had caught him stealing fruit from a vendor once when he was a child, and the enormous man had beaten and dragged him back to Zani by his hair. After that, he'd gone out of his way to avoid Therrura whenever possible. He wondered what caused the sudden change of heart in the big man, and if it was even genuine. Something as simple as a drink of water was like a gift from the heavens to him at this point, and he knew it could easily be another tactic to fuck with his mind. The only water he'd received from Kikain was dirty, recycled overflow from the ship's waste disposal system, and he knew the only reason he was getting it at all was to keep him barely alive. Otherwise, he resorted to licking what moisture he could from the walls of his dank cell, which tasted like corroding metal and was hardly worth the effort. He wondered if Therrura would really bring him some food. He hadn't eaten anything in days, and just the idea of something to eat was enough to make his stomach growl. He wasn't sure he could trust Therrura, or even if he should, but his body was begging for anything to keep it going, and he knew he wouldn't be able to refuse whatever was offered._

It didn't take long for Elnor to start feeling strange. Therrura had spiked the water with a painkiller, but having no medical training, he guessed on the appropriate dosage. Suddenly, drowsy, Elnor slid down to the floor and rested his head on the cold, wet deck plate. His thoughts became hazy, and his eyelids grew too heavy to keep open. Then the numbness crept in, and he felt his sore muscles relax, and his heart rate slow before unconsciousness overtook him.

***

Picard sat in his cell, his untouched dinner still sitting on the cot next to him. He couldn’t bring himself to eat anything after what happened earlier. Even as he reflected on his treatment at the hands of the Cardassians, he felt as though it paled in comparison to the inhumanity Kikain displayed with Elnor. True, Gul Madred had been a ruthless man, but as his captive, Picard never got the impression the man enjoyed his work. Certainly not the way Kikain enjoyed brutalizing Elnor. His excited reaction to how well the electro-conductive device worked was possibly the most horrifying thing Picard had ever seen. How someone could take such delight in inflicting pain and suffering on another living being was something Picard couldn’t even wrap his head around.

_He felt despondent and useless. Kikain only came in the room to torture Elnor, and none of the other men would talk to him. He talked to them until he was blue in the face but got nowhere. None of them wanted to hear his arguments on the morality of what they were doing. They were all well past the point of caring about right and wrong. All they wanted was to see somebody who had it better than them, suffer. Kikain had convinced them all that their rage was justified, and Elnor somehow deserved what they were doing to him._

He tried to get loose from the cot, more than once, but he was being watched so closely, and so far, all his attempts were unsuccessful. He had to find a way to help Elnor, and he was becoming desperate.

_Perhaps he could starve himself, or injure himself seriously enough that it might throw Kikain’s plan off, and force him to make a mistake. A mistake that could be exploited. Therrura was changing his mind but was only one man, and he wasn't sure if he could trust him with something as critical as Elnor's life, but he also wasn't sure he had a choice. Elnor was trying to be strong but was deteriorating with each day they were trapped here, and was going to die if he didn't think of something soon. Of all the desperate situations he found himself in over the years, this was certainly up there with the worst. He considered telling Therrura who would be looking for them, and what would happen when she found them. Knowing their lives were in danger might be enough for some of Kikain's men to change their minds too. If Elnor died, there was no doubt in his mind she would kill every man on the ship, and she might not stop there. She wasn't the same person he knew twenty years ago. She was emotionally fragile and unstable. He knew the idea of her starting a war with the Romulans over this wasn't outside the realm of possibility._

The small man, Sivit, entered the cell then, and Picard glared at him as he approached. When he saw the untouched plate, he looked at Picard and shook his head. "You had better eat something," he warned. "If you try to hasten your demise before the boy's, Kikain will take it out on him."

“Why are you doing this to him?” Picard asked.

“He took the life of one of his own race to protect you, a traitor and an enemy to the Romulan people," Sivit replied and sounded as if he'd rehearsed his answer in front of a mirror before entering the room.

“No, I understand Kikain’s motivation,” Picard insisted. “Why are _you_ involved? What happened to you that caused your ethics to become so twisted, you are not only unaffected by the suffering of another but able to inflict that suffering with your own hand?"

Sivit looked at him. “Nothing of consequence,” he said bluntly. “I’m a retired major of the Tal Shiar, and was trained to be emotionally detached from my work.” He glanced at the plate again. “It’s in the boy’s best interest that you comply with my request to eat your food, human,” he advised. Picard stared at him but said nothing further, and Sivit moved for the door. As it slid open, he turned back to Picard. “Before you question me again,” he said. “Be aware that I have inflicted far worse on much younger, and less able-bodied people than your boy.”

Once Sivit was gone, Picard begrudgingly picked up the plate, and began hiding some of its contents in his pockets while eating a few bites for show. As he picked through the scraps, he found a small, sharp sliver of bone. His eyebrow went up as he examined it. The point was narrow but sturdy enough that he might be able to use it as a tool to release the lock on his restraints. He tucked it safely in the waistband of his trousers and finished his food.

***

Kikain approached Therrura as he was eating his dinner in the mess. He sat down next to him and leaned his elbow on the table. "What the fuck was that today?" he asked, pointedly.

Therrura turned to look at him with disinterest. “What the fuck was what?”

Kikain frowned. “Why did you stop Sivit this morning? It wasn’t like you. Are you having second thoughts, my friend?”

Therrura returned his attention to his plate. "We aren't friends, and if you use that device indiscriminately, you will leave the boy brain-damaged."

“Have you forgotten, _friend_ , that I don’t plan on leaving him alive at all? What does it matter to you if I fry his brain beforehand?” Kikain snorted.

Therrura took another disinterested bite of his food. “If you _fry his brain_ too much, he’ll become completely unaware of what’s happening, or why he’s here, and then we may as well be punishing a vegetable. I agreed to join you to get justice for Tenqem, not so I could beat on a brain dead rag doll. There is no justice in that.”

Kikain studied Therrura for a minute before he responded. "I suppose that's reasonable. However, I'm not convinced that's your only motivation. I saw the look on your face when Sivit lit him up. You were disgusted.”

Therrura put his fork down, letting it clatter on his empty plate. “Sivit disgusts me,” he replied. “Am I required to like every slimy, low-life _veruul_ you dredged up for this mission?”

Kikain leaned back and eyed his companion. "I suppose not."

“Good,” Therrura said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s my turn to watch the old man.” Wearing his irritation on his sleeve, he got out of his seat, disposed of his plate, and left the mess without acknowledging Kikain again who watched him go, still harbouring suspicions about his commitment to their plan.

_He knew Therrura was full of shit with his concerns about 'beating a brain dead rag doll'. Something about that device and its effect on Elnor was causing the man to have second thoughts. He could see it in Therrura's eyes. He was going to have to start watching his comrade more closely to make sure he wasn't planning to derail all their hard work._

When Therrura entered Picard's cell, he marched over to the cot and picked up the plate. As he met Picard's eyes, his expression softened. "If you are hiding food, return it to the plate, and I will make sure the boy gets it," he said, almost in a whisper. Picard looked at him with uncertainty at first, but eventually nodded, and started emptying his pockets as Therrura held the plate out.

_He knew this might be his only chance to talk to Therrura alone, and decided to take the risk in trusting him._

“There was a Feeonix on board our ship,” Picard said and matched Therrura’s hushed tone. “Even if Kar Kantar destroyed _La Sirena_ , she would survive, and she is volatile and dangerous.”

Therrura gave Picard a surprised look. “The Feeonix are extinct.”

Picard shook his head. “They are not extinct, and the one onboard _La Sirena_ has more than a thousand years of military experience. She will find this ship, and when she does, she will kill every last man on board. You cannot doubt even a lone member of her species is capable of that.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Therrura asked.

“To save your lives,” Picard replied coolly. “I’m guessing most of the men here did not sign on to be murdered by an alien assassin with her own vendetta. The only way to stop what is coming is to ensure our safety and put up no resistance when she arrives."

Therrura frowned. “How do you know she will come for you?”

“Love is a powerful motivator,” Picard told him, and Therrura’s eyebrow went up.

"I will do what I can for the boy, but you better hope your Feeonix finds her way here soon," he said. Then he took the plate and left. Picard watched him go and prayed he'd done the right thing.

Therrura had to shake Elnor to wake him up. When the young monk finally opened his eyes, he jerked backward with alarm at the sight of the big man looming over him and hit his head on the wall. Therrura pulled him upright and handed him the plate. "You need to eat quickly," he said.

Elnor looked up at him and accepted the scraps. He held the plate up to his chin and shovelled the food into his mouth with the fingers of his good hand as fast as he could, still afraid Therrura would take it away without warning.

“You have a mate?" Therrura pointedly asked as he watched Elnor gobble up the meagre offering. Elnor abruptly stopped eating, and looked at him with worried surprise but didn't answer. "Keep eating," Therrura instructed before he continued. "Picard told me a Feeonix is coming for you. Is he telling the truth? It won’t do you any good to lie to me.”

Elnor broke his gaze from Therrura’s. “I believe she is dead,” he quietly replied. “If she were alive, she would have already come for me.”

“Your ship was disabled but not destroyed,” Therrura told him. “It may take them several days still, to track this vessel, and catch up to it.” Elnor met his eyes again but remained disheartened as he handed the empty plate back. “You don’t believe she loves you, or have you already accepted your death?” Therrura asked. Elnor pulled his knees up to his chest and lowered his head.

_He could feel the tears coming and didn't want Therrura to see them._

“I thought she loved me, but if that were true, she would have come by now.”

“Do you love her?”

Elnor could feel his lip start to quiver and nodded. Therrura put the plate on the floor and pulled a small flask from his pocket. He unscrewed the lid and offered it to Elnor. “It’s _kali-fal_ , drink some, it will help ease the pain in your heart," he said. Elnor accepted but shuddered at the taste. He'd had _kali-fal_ before but had yet to develop a tolerance for the pungent liquor. Therrura chuckled at his reaction. “It takes a while to acquire a taste for it.”

“I’m not going to live long enough for that to happen,” Elnor replied.

“You must not let yourself give in to those thoughts,” Therrura said. “From what I have heard, a Feeonix does not abandon its mate easily. I do not know her, but I know enough about her species to believe she will come for you, and Picard believes it as well.”

Elnor handed the flask back to Therrura and lowered his eyes again. "Why are you being so kind to me? I thought you wanted to see me dead too.”

Therrura pocketed his flask and sighed. "Tenqem was a good man, and he was my friend. He did not deserve to die, Elnor, and I hate you for killing him, but you do not deserve what Kikain is doing to you. Tenqem would not condone it, and I want to honour his memory.”

“I believed he was going to kill Picard,” Elnor replied.

“I know you did,” Therrura said ruefully. "You are young, and you made a terrible mistake. Perhaps, you deserve to be punished for that mistake but not like this...and perhaps if some of us had made an effort to be kinder to you in the past rather than ostracize you, Tenqem would not have died at all.”

Elnor looked into Therrura’s eyes. “I’m sorry I told you to _bite me_ that day in the market. It was rude, and I regret it.”

“We all have regrets,” Therrura replied as he stood. “The best we can do is avoid adding any more to our already heavy hearts. You are a brave young man, Elnor. Continue to be brave until your Feeonix comes for you."

Elnor watched Therrura leave and then folded his arms across his knees to rest his head on them.

_He no longer suspected Therrura was just messing with his mind. For the first time, Therrura had used his name instead of calling him 'sisterboy', and had talked to him rather than simply hurl insults. He wanted to believe Therrura was right, that Naseema would come for him, and he felt his courage surge up as he thought about the man’s words. She did love him, and she wouldn’t rest until she found him. If he couldn’t believe that, he may as well just lie down and die right now. He had to have faith. Faith in her, faith in Picard, and faith in himself. He would get through this._

He started singing to himself again.

_Words are flowing out_

_Like endless rain into a paper cup_

_They slither while they pass_

_They slip away across the universe_

Therrura made his way back to the mess to dispose of the empty plate and thought about his next move.

_His original plan had been to slip Elnor enough painkiller to stop the boy’s heart, but he believed Picard’s revelation about the Feeonix, and Elnor confirmed it. She would come for them eventually, and it had already been nearly a week, she couldn’t be far behind them now. He knew he could sabotage, and stall for at least a few more days before Kikain figured him out. Kantar trusted him and gave him free access to the ship. He could cause the ship to drop out of warp long enough for the human ship to find them, but he would need to be very careful. Kikain was a dangerous man, and if incited into a rage, could kill both the prisoners without a second thought. He no longer wanted to see that happen. Being reminded of the brutality inflicted on his own family by the Tal Shiar made him realize how wrong Kikain was. Tenqem had been a good man in life, an advocate of Romulans supporting Romulans. Tenqem didn't deserve the death Elnor dealt him, but would never have condoned what Kikain and the rest of them were doing in retaliation. Murdering an old man, and a boy would not honour Tenqem's memory, it would tarnish it. He needed to stop Kikain before the man destroyed them all._


	5. The Steel Teeth

The next time someone came into Elnor’s cell, it was an older man he hadn’t seen before. The man hauled Elnor to his feet and marched him down to Picard’s cell. He was groggy, from the painkiller Therrura slipped him the day before and barely put up a struggle as the older man and Sivit strapped him to the table. Picard eyed the new addition to Kikain’s team as he asked, “Where is Therrura?”

“Therrura is taking a break today,” Kikain replied. “But allow me to introduce Anclon.” The man sneered at Picard and sniffed as he fastened Elnor’s restraints.

_Anclon gave him a bad feeling, and he worried Kikain had discovered Therrura’s kindness to both him and Elnor. He knew he needed to take advantage of the next opportunity to escape his cell and sabotage Kikain’s plan._

Once he finished with Elnor, Anclon moved to the corner and stood with his arms folded across his chest while Sivit attached the nodes. Then, Picard had to watch as the slight, ex-Tal Shiar interrogator punished Elnor with five rounds of electrocution with only a minute of reprieve in between. By some small miracle, Elnor didn't break any more bones as his body seized violently in response to the current going through his brain, but by the time Sivit finished, Elnor's damp hair had steam rising from it. Picard attempted his usual vocal protestations, but Anclon was less controlled than Therrura and didn't hesitate to slug Picard across his jaw to shut him up. Anclon was also more visibly enthusiastic about his job as Kikain’s lackey and eagerly suggested Elnor needed to cool off once Sivit removed the nodes from his temples. Elnor was barely conscious after the electrocution, so Anclon roused him back to life by dumping a jug of ice water onto his face, which made him gasp and sputter. Then the rag came out of Kikain's pocket, and Anclon disappeared to refill the jug. Kikain moved the chair to the head of the table and looked down at Elnor with a smirk. "So, Sisterboy, did Tenqem deserve to die?"

Elnor glared back at him. “No.” The juxtaposition of Elnor’s defiant stare and his answer seemed to confuse Kikain.

“What did you say?” he asked.

"No, he didn't deserve to die," Elnor replied. "I should have killed you instead." Kikain narrowed his eyes at Elnor, and then Anclon returned with the water. The rag went over his face, and the suffocation quickly followed. Three jugs later, Elnor was gasping for air, and Kikain seemed bored.

He leaned back in his chair and looked at Picard. “Are you ready to put him down yet, Admiral? Somehow I doubt you’d let even a stray animal suffer like this.”

Picard met Kikain’s eyes with steady calm. “ That’s never going to happen, Kikain. If you want us dead, you will have to do it yourself.”

“We’ll see,” Kikain replied and turned his eyes back to Elnor. “You’re not looking so pretty these days, Sisterboy. I give it another week before you’re begging the old man to put that _tan qalanq_ to your throat and end your misery." Elnor met Kikain with the usual defiance in his expression but said nothing. Kikain got up from his seat and motioned for Sivit to leave. Then he turned to Picard again. "Anclon has asked for some time with the sisterboy. I honestly hope he doesn’t get too rough.” Kikain shrugged and followed Sivit out of the room.

Anclon finished unfastening Elnor’s restraints and shoved him off the table onto the floor. Elnor got to his feet before Anclon made it around the table, but the man wasted no time with his fists. He struck twice before Elnor was able to land a few hits of his own, but it quickly became obvious Anclon was not looking for a fair fight. Elnor was tired, injured, starving and dehydrated, but it still took Anclon several minutes to finally pin him to the deck.

_He felt an awful rush of panic as Anclon got on top of him. He heard Salome tell him to relax_ _as the taste of salty bile rose in his throat_ _. He did not want to be held down on his back._

Elnor clenched his fists and flailed his limbs as he tried to get Anclon off him. His heart pounded, and he started to hyperventilate as he felt hot tears rise. Anclon managed to pin his hands and punched him twice in the face, but Elnor kept struggling. Anclon finally grabbed a handful of Elnor's hair and slammed his head into the deck. "I knew your father, Sisterboy," Anclon growled. "He would be disgusted by you." Then the man pulled the disruptor from his hip, took aim and fired into the bulkhead just above Picard's head. "Enough!" he roared. "The next one will be right between his eyes." Elnor stopped fighting, and Anclon jerked him to his feet by his wrists. The sharp stab of pain caused him to cry out, but Anclon ignored it and forced him over to the ceiling restraint. "Don't do anything stupid," Anclon warned as he reholstered his weapon and hooked Elnor up to the pulley. Then, he yanked him upward so hard and fast, Elnor gasped with the fresh agony. Anclon continued to taunt Elnor as he levied his fists into the soft flesh below Elnor's ribcage. "Your father and I were friends, Sisterboy," Anclon told the young monk. "He was so overjoyed he cried the day you were born." He came around to grab Elnor's face with one hand. "I'm glad he isn't alive to see what a disgrace you are. Dedicating yourself to a woman's religion, killing your own kind to protect not only a human but a traitor to our people, betraying everything your father believed in, if he weren't already dead, your shame would be enough to kill him." Even though he held them back, Anclon could see the tears shining in Elnor's eyes and smiled. "Do yourself a favour, Sisterboy, and ask the old man to end your miserable life." Then he pulled his weapon again and held it up under Elnor's chin. "Or, if you're too much of a coward to face him, ask me, and I'll put you out of your misery right now."

Elnor stared back at Anclon, and even though his eyes were still full of tears, the look in them hardened. "Our friends are coming for us, and when they get here, we'll see who the coward is."

Anclon narrowed his eyes and let his hand slide around to grip Elnor's hair again. "Kikain was right, you've got quite the mouth on you." He tightened his hold and bent Elnor's head back as he leaned in close to his ear. "You should consider putting it to better use," he said nastily. "What do you say, Sisterboy, do you want to suck my cock?"

Elnor held his hard stare and replied, "You will never break me." Anclon snorted and released his hold. He took a step back and smirked at a horrified Picard over his shoulder before he turned back to Elnor. "I'll see you later, Sisterboy," he said with a menacing edge and then left the room.

Once Anclon was gone, Elnor met Picard’s eyes. “Elnor, don’t believe anything he said to you,” Picard insisted. “None of it is true.”

Elnor broke their eye contact before he replied, “You don’t know that.”

Picard’s eyes widened. “You can’t honestly believe your father would be ashamed of you?”

“Perhaps, but I can’t believe he wouldn’t be either,” Elnor quietly replied.

Picard frowned. "You are one of the bravest, most steadfast young men I have ever known. I am so proud of you, and I refuse to believe your father would feel anything less than love and honour for the man you are."

Elnor swallowed back his tears and nodded.

_He wanted to believe Picard's encouraging words, but it was hard. Considering how nearly every other Romulan he knew, saw him as an outlier, a freak, and a disgrace to his people, it wasn't hard to imagine his parents might feel the same about him. His resolve to be strong despite the pain was slipping, and his desire to remain defiant regardless of the hardship it brought was becoming the desire to no longer be in pain anymore. His wish to hold Naseema in his arms and feel her energy inside him was slowly being replaced by one to be left alone on the cold, wet floor of the dark room where he could try to imagine better things, things he would probably never get to experience. He was glad he didn't seem to be able to dream anymore because if he could, all his dreams would be about her, and he wasn't sure he could handle waking up from them._

Then, Therrura entered the room with Picard's meal. He lowered his eyes and shook his head when he saw Elnor strung up so high, his toes barely touched the deck. He placed the plate on the cot next to Picard and then released the lock on the ceiling anchor to lower Elnor to the floor. The young monk's legs were unsteady, but he managed to stay on his feet while Therrura unhooked him. Then the big man attempted to adjust Elnor's twisted pants and tighten the drawstring, but Elnor flinched and tried to jerk away. Therrura looked at him with mild annoyance. "I'm not going to hurt you, boy." Elnor stared back for a few seconds before finally nodding and allowing Therrura to fix his only item of clothing.

Picard carefully watched the exchange. “Your friend, Anclon, just beat him and threatened him with sexual assault. I can’t say his reaction is all that surprising.”

“Anclon is _not_ my friend,” Therrura replied. “He is a criminal and a liar, do not believe anything he says to you.”

"What if he tries to make good on his threat?" Picard asked. "You cannot leave Elnor alone and defenceless. You need to help us get out of here."

Therrura looked at Elnor. "I have seen your skills even without your _tan qalanq_ , you are not defenceless, but I will make sure he doesn't bother you anymore." Then he turned back to Picard. "Eat your food, and I will return later." Picard nodded and worriedly watched as Therrura took Elnor's arm and led him out of the room. Therrura walked quickly but didn't push or yank Elnor, and once they were in the tiny cell, he reached into his pocket and took out a large chunk of bread wrapped in a piece of cloth. He gave it to Elnor and sat on the floor next to him while he ate.

"He told me he knew my father," Elnor finally said. "He said he would be so ashamed of me, it would kill him if he saw me now. Is that true? Did he know my father?”

"I do not know, but you must not listen to such things," Therrura replied. "You must stay strong until your rescue comes. I will attempt to hasten that for you, but in the meantime, you cannot let yourself succumb to dark thoughts. They will break you faster than anything else." Elnor nodded but didn't say anything in reply even after he finished the bread. "I will try to bring you something later," Therrura told him as he got to his feet. Elnor watched Therrura leave and then rested his head back against the wall.

_The pain in his lower back made every position he tried uncomfortable, and it also hurt to breathe. He tried not to think about what Anclon said to him, and he tried even harder not to think about Anclon's promise to 'see him later.' He needed to do what Therrura told him and remain strong until Naseema came for him. He had to believe she wouldn't let him down. He repeated Therrura's words to himself but imagined it was Naseema saying them. 'You are strong. I love you, Elnor. Be brave, and I will find you.'_

He started singing to himself again.

_Words are flowing out_

_Like endless rain into a paper cup_

_They slither while they pass_

_They slip away across the universe…_

***

Picard did his best to keep track of the hours and days that passed, but it was difficult without any frame of reference. He guessed it was at least a couple of days since he found the piece of bone in his food and tucked it safely away. Until now, there hadn't been an opportunity for him to attempt to escape his cell. The guards kept too close an eye on him, but the one currently on duty didn't seem to view him as a threat, and he knew that could work to his advantage. He worked the sliver of bone into the tiny hole on his restraints. He had to twist his wrist into an uncomfortable position to reach it, and after, what he guessed was an hour or so, his joint became so achy he knew he was going to have to rest it soon.

_He needed to find a way out of his cell, signal for help, or at least slow the ship down. Their situation was becoming desperate, and he worried that Therrura's promises were empty. Elnor’s body may not have many visible marks of violence on it to illustrate suffering, but there were other indicators. The spark of youth in the eyes was fading. There was the weight loss, the visible rib and hip bones. There was the pale, macerated skin from constant exposure to moisture, and the open sores around the waistband. There were the seeping, angry wounds worn into the wrists by the restraints, especially the swollen, broken one, the shallower breathing, the waning fight, and now the cough. The cough was what worried Picard the most. It indicated that stress and infection were ravaging Elnor's body, and if rescue didn't come soon, Elnor would be too sick to survive._

Frustrated and angry, Picard relaxed his wrist, but just as he resigned himself to giving up, he heard the almost inaudible click. He twisted his other wrist, and the restraints popped open. Surprised but pleased, he discarded the cuffs on the cot and quickly slipped over to the door. He listened carefully for several seconds until he heard the guard shift his position outside the cell.

_He needed to get the guard to enter the cell, but first, he had to find a way to overpower the man._

He looked around and decided on the chain used to restrain Elnor to the table. He fiddled with the link closest to the floor and managed to pry it open. He gathered the chain up and grabbed the ceramic water jug as well. He went back to the door, pressed his back against the wall next to it, and launched the jug across the room. He heard the guard curse as it smashed and readied the chain in his hands. The door opened, and as soon as the guard entered the room, Picard attacked. He swung the chain around the man's neck, yanked him backward and squeezed until the struggling stopped. He took the guard's disruptor and went into the corridor. He closed the door behind him and hurried down the hallway. Within a few minutes, he found the room he was sure Elnor was in, there was nobody posted outside, so he quickly opened the door and went in. It took a few seconds for him to adjust to the pitch black, and even though he couldn't see anything, the room was tiny, so it didn't take him long to locate Elnor's still form on the floor. Picard gently shook his shoulder and felt Elnor stir.

“Please, I’m so thirsty,” Elnor whispered, his voice weak and raspy. “Just a little water, please.”

“Elnor, it’s me,” Picard whispered back.

_He realized he should have brought water with him and was annoyed with himself for failing to think of it, but it was too late for that now._

“Picard?” Elnor asked. “How did you-is this a dream-am I dead?”

"No, you aren't dreaming, and you're not dead," Picard replied.

_At least not yet._

"Are we going home?" Elnor asked, and Picard heard his voice break with the hopeful question.

“Not yet,” he said. “I’m going to find a way to get help. I need you to hang on just a little bit longer. I’m going to get us out of here, I promise.”

"A promise is a prison..." Elnor muttered, and Picard realized just how dire the circumstances were for the young Romulan.

_Elnor was so sick and dehydrated he was almost delirious. He knew Elnor had maybe a few days left before the shadow of death would come. His attempt had to be successful._

Picard rested his hand on Elnor’s head in an attempt to comfort him and felt him shift a little on the floor. “Is Naseema here?” he asked and coughed raggedly several times. “I miss her.”

“She’s on her way,” Picard replied.

_He knew it was a lie. He had no idea if she would find them at all, nevermind in time to save Elnor, but if hearing such words brought some comfort and strength, he would say whatever he had to._

“She loves me," Elnor whispered with a tired sigh before he slipped into unconsciousness again. Picard left Elnor and went back into the corridor. Then he pried his way into the nearest access tube and followed the uneven hum toward what he hoped would be engineering.

***

“We need to talk,” Therrura said as he sat next to Kar Kantar in the nearly deserted mess.

“I hope it’s about the fact that I haven’t seen a dime from your friend, Kikain,” Kar replied.

"He is not my friend, and once I tell you what I know, you may wish to abandon your association with him," Therrura said.

Kar’s eyebrow went up and made the scar across his face tighten. “Yeah, and what is it you know?” he asked. “I’ve already invested a lot of time and resources into this mission, and I’ve lost good men. It’s going to take a pretty big revelation to make me abandon it now. I want to be paid.”

“The boy is mated to a Feeonix,” Therrura told him.

Kar laughed. "Sure he is, and I’m secretly a member of the royal family.” He put his fork down and turned to face Therrura. “Where the fuck did you hear that fairytale?” he asked. “My first mate is a little too fond of the _kali-fal_ , and he's known to tell some tall ones, so if that's a rumour going around, I wouldn't be paying much attention to it."

“I heard it from Picard,” Therrura replied with stone-cold seriousness.

“Right, because Picard wouldn’t say anything to save himself and that sad excuse for a Qowat Milat,” Kar snorted sarcastically. “The Feeonix are extinct, you idiot.”

"I didn't believe it at first either, but the boy confirmed it."

Kar laughed again. “I’ll bet he did. I'd probably fantasize about something like that too if I were in his place."

Therrura stared at Kar, still serious and still determined to convince the man of the truth, that if they didn't do something now, they would all die. "You are as familiar with the Qowat Milat philosophy as I am, Kar. The boy was raised to tell the truth, and I caught him off guard when I questioned him about it. His reaction was genuine, it is the truth."

Kar leaned back in his seat. “Alright, let’s say it is the truth, the Feeonix aren’t extinct, and he is mated to one, so what?”

"Picard told me she is a military expert, that she has centuries of combat experience, and she will not hesitate to slaughter every man on this ship when she finds it," Therrura said.

“If she’s such an expert, I would think she’d have found us by now,” Kar retorted. “Picard’s a desperate liar, and the sisterboy's brain is halfway to mush by now. You could have asked him if he was mated to me, and he probably would have confirmed it. You're a fool for believing either of them, and I strongly suggest you stop trying to stir up trouble, or I'll tell Kikain about this attempt to sabotage his precious revenge plan."

Therrura was silent for a second but finally nodded. “You are probably right. We've come too far to give in to flights of fancy now. I'm sure I just need a good night's rest, and my thoughts will be more clear in the morning."

Kar eyed him briefly but then broke into a smile. “There’s the Therrura I know,” he said as he picked up his utensil and returned to his meal. “You had me worried for a minute.”

Therrura smiled back and nodded again as he patted his hand on the table. “I’ll see you in the morning.” He left the table and exited the mess.

_If Kar didn’t believe him, he had no hope of gaining the support of the rest of the crew. He was on his own._

He strolled right past the entrance to the crew quarters and headed straight for engineering.

***

Picard silently scanned the engineering section from behind the access passage grate. There appeared to be only two men currently occupying the area, so he was confident his chances were good he could disable the ship's warp engine before anyone discovered him or the unconscious guard in his cell. It was fortunate his knowledge of how these old Romulan ships operated was good, so he wouldn't have to waste time and risk getting caught while fumbling around for the right place to strike. He waited until one of the two Romulans called over to the other one about taking their meal break. The second voiced his agreement, and they both retreated into the small office. Picard couldn't make out what they were saying, but their muffled voices allowed him to keep a tab on where they were. He eased the grate open and stayed low as he hurried over to the control panel on the far side of the warp core. He laid the disruptor on the floor between his feet and pried open the maintenance panel where he was crushed to find multiple intersecting modifications he was completely unfamiliar with.

_This was exactly what he wanted to avoid, exposing himself while he fucked around trying to find the right combination of connections to sever._

After several minutes of analyzing the layout of the console, Picard finally picked up the disruptor in frustration and aimed it at the centre of the convoluted mess, but as he was about to pull the trigger, he heard a noise behind him. He spun around, and Therrura promptly yanked the weapon from his grasp. "Have you lost your mind?" the big man hissed. "Do you have any idea what Kikain will do to your boy if you are missing from your cell? What happened to your guard?" Picard didn't have time to respond before the two Romulans on duty heard the subtle commotion and came out of the office. Therrura quickly pointed the disruptor at Picard and bellowed, "Are the two of you completely blind or just incompetent?!"

The taller of the two came around the console. As soon as he saw Picard kneeling on the floor in front of it, he exclaimed. "Where did he come from?!"

Therrura grabbed Picard’s arm and pulled him to his feet before he returned his attention to the other two dumbfounded Romulans. “You’re lucky I just happened to walk by and see him,” he barked. “Break's over, get back to work!" He tugged Picard close to him as he turned them on their heels and marched him out of engineering. "And you are lucky I was the one who caught you," he said in a hushed tone. "What did you think you would accomplish with this foolish endeavour? I told you I would help you, and you have endangered us both, and the boy."

"Elnor is going to die if he does not get medical attention soon," Picard replied a tinge of urgency in his voice.

"I am aware of that," Therrura said. "I have already-" He didn't get the chance to finish before there was a low boom, and all the power abruptly went out.

“I sincerely hope this is your doing,” Picard said flatly as the emergency lights flickered to life.

Therrura was pissed and shoved him forward. "I sincerely hope you have not doomed us all with your little stunt." The pair were silent as they marched back to Picard's cell, where they found Kikain, Kar Kantar, and two of his men already there. Picard and Therrura exchanged a glance when they heard Kikain and Kar shouting at each other.

“As soon as you pay me, you’ll have earned back your right to complain about my ship and crew!” Kar growled.

Kikain glowered back at him. "There will be people looking for Picard, and the longer this floating scrap heap just sits here, exposed and weaponless, the greater the chance the fucking Rangers will find us. You need to get the cloak back up if you have any hope of getting paid.”

“You need to pay me for what I’ve already put into this lunatic’s quest!” Kar roared. “I lost men, good men!”

Kikain opened his mouth to respond, but then saw Therrura and Picard. "Where did you find him?!"

“Engineering,” Therrura calmly replied. “He was attempting to disable one of the consoles.”

Kikain snorted angrily. “That was incredibly stupid, Admiral.” Then he turned back to Kar. "Is there even anyone keeping an eye on engineering, or are they just as useless as this one?" he spat and motioned to the disoriented guard on the cell floor. Kar glared back without saying anything while Therrura shoved Picard between them and back toward the cot where he refastened the restraints. He noticed the piece of bone lying on the thin mattress pad and caught Picard's eye. He made a subtle gesture with his eyes, and Picard quickly shifted over to sit on the bone shard.

“Go get Sisterboy,” Kikain abruptly commanded.

Therrura turned to face him and frowned. “The boy is already close to death and had nothing to do with this,” he argued. “I see no reason to-”

“Go. Get. Him,” Kikain repeated, his seething anger thinly veiled by the unnerving calm in his tone. Therrura didn’t argue any further and only nodded before he exited the cell. Kar shot one last disdainful glare at Kikain and followed Therrura into the corridor.

Picard felt his stomach drop.

Outside the cell, Kar grabbed Therrura's arm as they walked toward Elnor's cell. "It's some coincidence that you express to me your paranoid delusions about some imaginary Feeonix coming to destroy us all, and then my ship is sabotaged less than an hour later."

Therrura shot him a look. "You have made so many half-assed modifications and slapped so many patches on this junk heap you call a ship, it's a delusion to believe that anyone would need to sabotage it."

"If I find out that you-" Kar started to threaten, but Therrura cooly cut him off.

“I am the one who found Picard in engineering and stopped him from using a disruptor to blow this garbage barge into oblivion. Perhaps if you wish to prevent sabotage of your ship, you should stop employing drunks.”

Kar glared suspiciously at him. "Perhaps you are in collusion with the old man? What were _you_ doing in engineering?”

Therrura rolled his eyes. “I was taking a walk before I retired for the night. Who is paranoid now?”

Kar narrowed his eyes as they reached Elnor’s cell. “This isn’t over.”

Therrura looked at him with pity. "Do not get angry with me because you have realized you're in over your head with Kikain and this mission. We are all backed into the same corner now, and turning on each other will accomplish nothing. Once I deliver the boy, I will return to engineering to help you restore power."

Kar eyed Therrura for a second before relaxing his shoulders. "Alright, I believe you, for now. I'll see you shortly and don't drag your feet." Therrura gave him a single nod in reply and opened the door to the cell as Kar continued to engineering. Therrura found Elnor asleep on the floor. He heard the gentle wheeze every time Elnor took a breath and furrowed his brow.

_Picard was right, Elnor needed medical attention. He silently thanked the stars Kar seemed to believe he wasn't responsible for the ship's power failure and prayed his efforts weren't in vain. If Elnor's Feeonix was out there, she needed to find him soon, or it would be too late._

He slipped the hypospray out of his pocket and pressed it against Elnor's neck before gently shaking his shoulder to wake him. He noticed Elnor's skin was clammy.

Elnor startled at first, but once he realized it was Therrura, he sighed weakly. "Is it morning already?"

“No,” Therrura replied. “I am sorry, Elnor, but I have to take you to Kikain now.”

Elnor didn’t miss the sadness in Therrura’s tone and knew it was a bad sign. “Is Picard okay?” he asked.

"Yes, Picard is fine, but I'm afraid he has caused some trouble," Therrura told him. "He subdued his guard and escaped his cell.”

Elnor swallowed, and it felt as though he was pushing a handful of broken glass down his throat. “What is Kikain going to do to me?”

Therrura looked down and replied, "I don't know, but he is very angry. I have given you something for the pain. Try to think of your Feeonix, and hopefully, it will be over soon."

Elnor nodded. “Thank you,” he whispered as Therrura helped him to his feet. They walked to meet Kikain at Picard's cell, and once there, Kikain instructed Therrura to fasten Elnor to the ceiling anchor and immediately dismissed everyone from the room. While Therrura was collecting Elnor, Sivit delivered a wooden box which now sat on the table. Picard knew nothing good would come out of that box and had been profusely apologizing in an attempt to calm Kikain down before he got his hands on Elnor. Meanwhile, Elnor knew he was about to face the most brutal punishment yet and was trying to steel his nerves.

Kikain stood beside Elnor and glared at Picard while he let his rage build to its most effective peak. "Well, Sisterboy," he finally said. "Your old man here managed to get loose from his restraints, attacked his guard, and then ran amok in engineering. I suppose you probably didn't notice since I'm sure you're used to the dark by now, but we haven't got any power at the moment. We have no warp drive, no cloak, and no weapons. I've got Kar fucking Kantar breathing down my neck about his ship and his dead crewman, and I've got a right hand quite possibly sabotaging my entire operation behind my back because he seems to have developed a soft spot for you. The only bright spot in my life right now is Sivit and his wonderful box of Tal Shiar toys. Would you like to see what he brought just for you?" Elnor stared at Kikain completely expressionless, which only seemed to anger him further. He turned to Picard. "Would you like to see what Sivit brought?"

“Kikain, please,” Picard begged, “If you need to vent your anger, vent it on me. Elnor had no idea what I was planning and had nothing to do with it.”

“Oh, I know he didn’t,” Kikain replied. “But you were warned on day one that if you crossed me, I would take it out on Sisterboy here. What kind of an example would I be setting if I failed to follow through on that warning?” He went over to the table and opened the box.

Elnor couldn't see what it was, but Picard could, and he watched the old man's eyes widen with horror. Then he heard the loud crack.

Picard opened his mouth. “Kikain, please-”

“Shut up!” Kikain screamed. “I am sick of listening to you sermonize! Maybe this will finally teach you to accept your fate just as every Romulan still living and breathing has had to accept theirs, and maybe you will finally be able to see how _you_ brought this on him! If you had stayed on Earth, where you belong, he would still be chopping firewood and washing dishes for his mama, and Tenqem would still be alive!"

The stony knot in Elnor’s gut tightened as he watched the colour drain from Picard’s face and then came the first lash. The leather knout consisted of seven long tails, each tipped with metal, and each of those metal tips tore through Elnor’s flesh as Kikain swung the whip with everything he had. Elnor's eyes flew open, and he was unable to stop the harrowed cry from escaping. As Kikain drew back for another strike, Elnor sucked in a hard breath as quickly as he could and clenched his jaw, but neither action did anything to lessen the shock of the second blow. The knout’s teeth ripped his skin open with a scalding agony he didn’t even know existed until it exploded in his brain and sent searing torrents of pain through every nerve in his body. He squeezed his eyes shut, and the escaping tears rolled down the sides of his face as he tried to brace himself against the next assault, but the effort was barren. His legs buckled with the third lash, and his body lurched forward as Kikain seemed to build up more steam with each subsequent strike. Elnor’s blood splattered across Kikain’s shirt as every swing sent seven steely talons across his target’s back. The vibrant green turned dark as it flowed down and saturated the tired, dirty fabric still clinging to Elnor’s hips. It began to pool on the floor around him, and his feet lost what little traction they had. He bit down on his tongue to silence the wail trying to force its way out of his lungs. His muscles involuntarily tightened against the savage onslaught and gave the whip's sharp teeth a murderous bite that made them feel like they were molten.

Picard didn’t even attempt to stop his tears and recoiled as each sharp crack reverberated off the walls of the small chamber. Unable to bring himself to focus on Elnor, he instead forced himself to watch Kikain’s expressionless features contrasted by the dark eyes ablaze with a blind hatred that had nowhere to go except down the slender strips of leather, capped with vicious, gleaming teeth. Teeth that sent droplets of teenaged blood across the ceiling, the walls, and the rageful man who wielded them. Sweat poured from Kikain’s pores, soaking his shirt and hair. It was as if he were caught in an unending loop that compelled him to punish Elnor, not only for the crime of Tenqem's death but for every crime ever committed against the Romulan people since the dawn of the Empire. When his rage finally burned itself out, and his arm demanded he stop, the room was speckled green, and his shirt streaked with sweat and Elnor's blood. The smell of it hung in the air along with the sound of Elnor’s mournful gasps. His chest heaving and his face flushed from the effort, Kikain let the knout slip from his grasp and wordlessly walked out of the room. Picard finally turned to Elnor who stared straight ahead his eyes focused on nothing while the strings of saliva that dangled from his lips quivered with each ragged breath. His weight and the force of the knout's lashes tore the wounds at his wrists wide open. Blood flowed down both his arms. Some of it soaked into his hair, and the rest tapered into a trickle that continued down his torso. His dirty face streaked with tears, his legs barely kept him propped up and Picard knew he was close to losing consciousness but couldn’t seem to make himself do anything or even say something comforting.

_He didn’t have to imagine what being in that kind of pain felt like, he’d been there, but watching someone you love go through it for the first time and seeing them try to process it was an entirely fresh hell to experience. He suddenly realized what he needed to say. Elnor was open, honest and was willing to show vulnerability. He needed to do the same._

“Elnor, I love you.”

Elnor finally turned his eyes to Picard's, and then Therrura came through the door. He saw what remained of Elnor and cursed under his breath. He immediately released the ceiling anchor, and Elnor's feet skidded out from underneath him as he collapsed to the floor, his back cracked open like drought-ravaged soil, clogged with hair, and oozing blood. Picard’s heart nearly stopped when he saw the extent of Kikain’s wrath. He looked up and locked eyes with Therrura. The big man appeared stricken.

_Kikain's rage had sealed their fates. They all had targets painted on their backs, and there was nothing he could do to stop it now. When the Feeonix saw what had been done, she would kill every last one of them._


End file.
